In Need of New Shoes

We have walked a ways together
But now the time has come for us to part company.
In your frailty, you can no longer bear the strain
Or protect me from the rain
And so you must retire to a
Home for the worn-out.

To discard of you feels like
To discard of a part of myself ,
Married as we have been
These past twelve months.
Who I am is written all over you,
You are trained in my ways
And, in your wisdom, know the pattern of my steps
Even before I take them,
Before I lift my foot to make them.

You have served me well old friends
And I will mourn for you.
As I look back on the paths we journeyed together
Sometimes in extremes of weather
Over rocky terrain
Through sun and through rain, yes,
As I remember,
I will mourn for you.

All the while trying to train your successors –
Naive and neutral
Willing to bend to any who will employ them.
Fresh-faced and eager
But lacking in life experience.
In time they will master each bend and flex
And learn to yield only to me.
We will become as one.

The blisters will heal,
And my memories will blur -
You will become but a chapter in my life.
But until then,
And who can say when
That might be?
Yes, until that day,
I can resolutely say
The socks on my feet will always be black.