Twinkle toes in a starry night,

I look up to see the moon, the clouds mar my sight,

My red shoes are gleaming bright but old,

Sigh! I look at them as life’s stories unfold!

 

The lessons life teaches you, the tests it puts you through,

You realize the stories you once heard are oh-so-true,

Every phase is so different and new, it’s not always the one you choose,

It’s easy to say ‘if I were in your shoes…’

 

Wear my shoes, go click ‘em away

Tap the heels the way I do, change your gait,

Remember when I complained of sore toes, those blisters the red shoes gave?

First wear my shoes, then ape the way I sway!

 

When you ask me: How have you managed high heels all your life?

I say: I just ‘managed’, and I smile!

As I smirk, I think of the cotton balls and band aids I used,

The heel protectors, creams and other add-ons that I just had to…

 

My shoes are red, with pain and blood,

My heels have cracked, my ankles bled,

The place I am in now, I may not later be,

For I am now in your shoes, you wear mine and let me be!

 

 – Aditi Shukla

[until you get me off my shoes or get into mine]