We Need to Talk about Shoes
The right shoes
for work, party, funeral.
The right shoes for 2023,
with heels not worn down
last century, like sister Jo’s
shit-brown Mary Janes,
passed on by Aunt Jess
in pristine pasteboard box.
Each clipped step, continuing
an unimpressed footprint.
Olive M Ritch was the recipient of the Scottish Book Trust Next Chapter Award in 2020 and was awarded the Calder Prize for Poetry from the University of Aberdeen in 2006. She has poems published in many journals and anthologies. Her work has also been broadcast on Radio 4. @OliveRitch