Steel-Toed Life

I hardly pay attention, half asleep in the mornings,

when I pull on my steel-toed boots and tie the laces.

The inner soles have long since molded to my feet

and months have passed since I last paid attention

to the extra weight wrought with each step forward.

Instead, I notice the tightness in my outer ankles

and my calves when I later move certain directions,

the beveled touch of the sidewalk under my soles,

and the extra flexibility in my ankles when I wear

my well-worn pair of sneakers that now feel foreign.