Vincent's Shoes
He built his palette
around the ragged colors
of her tortoise-shell calico,
piled like clotted earth
in a sunny corner.
His worn soul
embraced the tales
of those crumpled old shoes—
shredded laces, wilted leather—
scuffed with the stuff of a heart
that beat wild paths through
fields of irises, sunflowers, wheat,
the streets of Arles, and
dreams lost to the night sky.
by Elaine Frankonis
from What the Seasons Leave —soon to be published
Finishing Line Press, 2014