Fabulous Feet
Have you ever studied a pair of feet,
Tanned and healthy with toes so neat?
Yet even the best of them can’t escape
Being somewhat calloused and oddly-shaped.
When age or confinement engender the worst,
When from closed shoes those feet have burst,
Then what a sight they are to behold,
Pale and pealing….lumpy and cold.
Straight to perdition the poor foot goes,
Plagued with its bunions and hammer toes.
Ingrown toenails and fungus infections
Deeply discourage a close inspection.
And, if you are hoping for fragrance sweet,
There’s not much hope in a pair of feet!
“Like old gym shoes,” they smell you say;
Well, that’s how the gym shoes got that way!
The state of the foot can be quite pathetic,
If based on assessments of its aesthetic!
The foot’s true value and social station
Have more to do with perambulation.
Can they stand? Will they hold you up?
A man can still drink from an ugly cup!
Feet are an engineering whiz,
Making a champion who he is:
A runner, a cyclist, a boxing champ,
A scout, who is trying to set up camp.
It allows homeowners to climb their stairs,
And function best when possessed in pairs.
They help a new Mom chase a child,
And at day’s end, she’s run for miles!
City folk, with minimal fuss,
Depend upon them to catch the bus…
Navigate crowds in subway stations,
And finally reach their destinations.
This topic wouldn’t be quite complete
Without a tribute to other feet.
Cats and dogs, just for example,
On fuzzy feet our homes peramble.
Despite the risk of sharpened claws,
We love the touch of softened paws.
The gentle scuff of much-loved feet:
Can any sound be oh-so-sweet?
So, take a moment sometime soon,
To scan the feet around a room.
Consider where those feet have gone,
The crucial errands they’ve been on.
The challenges they have been through,
The miles they’ve trod to be near you.
Then contemplate the feet you own,
The ragged nail, the crooked bone.
The rugged journey they’ve traversed:
It’s shocking they don’t look much worse!
They’ve carried you through time and space;
They carry the entire human race.
Doff your hat and say a prayer
For feet that have always been right there!
They have no choice when we go to town..
So, do them a favor and go sit down!