You likely can’t tell by looking at me
that my left boot is slightly more loose
than the right, and that there
are bits of rock raising havoc inside

like caffeinated billiard balls, one side 
to the other, front to back, sometimes 
trapped between the tips of my toes
and the soft, worn leather of my boot 

The light smile on my face has nothing 
to do with your verbal tsunami that is
assaulting the shores of my 
poorly fortified attention span

I am disporting myself and am, presently,
rolling the tiny boulders around, 
my toes playing together like close siblings 
(after lights out) inside 
my loose, gravel filled boot