Big Boy Shoes

Big Boy Shoes

by Edmund Siejka

She was in the living room
Evening shadows slowly inching forward
When I came home
The look on her face said something had happened.
Reluctant to say anything at first
Words suddenly came out 
From her like torrential rain
She came home early and since the house was quiet 
Decided to clean up
Unable to find her sneakers she put mine on 
Not noticing they weren’t mine
But belonged to our ten year old.

How did this happen so fast she asked?
She remembered the first time
They walked to school together 
So close was he to her
How she held his small hand 
Feeling his softness
Knowing his innocence.

When it was time for her to leave
She left him at the school house door.
Alone for the first time
He cried
Small innocent tears 
Bright as diamonds
But like a brave soldier he walked in
As she waited in front
Anxiously holding her breath
Watching his every move
Until she could only see 
The tiniest sliver of his blue backpack
Disappear behind those gray doors.

That fall she bought him his favorite sneakers 
The ones covered with gold stars
That made him feel special  
That made him believe 
He could run like the wind.
And now he was so grown up
So tall
So big
And she confessed
She hadn’t been able to lift him 
Since last summer.

When did this happen
To her little boy?
Changes that came so suddenly
And changes that made his mother so sad.

Copyright © Edmund Siejka | Year Posted 2021

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