until my feet hurt
my mom's always told me to wear better shoes / no more flip-flops - they'll give you plantar fasciitis, she says / and those boots, they used to be hers / before they wore out the arches of her feet / we've worn the same size shoe since I was in 6th grade / I was 12 when I started borrowing my mom's shoes / those boots, the ones I'm telling you about now / they're black and faux-suede. they make my legs look longer / on the metro from Vienna to L'enfant / I'm wearing fishnets and a jean skirt/ it's 2018. My mom doesn't know this / I changed my outfit in the car / the skirt isn't mine either, it's Hannah's / she gave me the skirt and the stick-and-poke tattoo 2 months prior / that my mom doesn't know about either / she's already not fond of the nose ring / neither of them hurt as much as I thought they would / the boots hurt more. I took them off mid-show / the concert. I can't remember where it was held, but it was St. Patrick's Day / we went to another the following Saturday and I wore different shoes / a different outfit of Hannah's too / the boots are in my mom's closet. they're mine, but I don't have anywhere to put my own shoes / nor do I have anywhere to wear them / I don't live near DC anymore / I don't close my eyes on the escalator / I don't get lost in Chinatown / I don't go to the midnight showing of an awful and wonderful movie on Valentine's Day / I don't wear those boots anymore / my feet hurt. my mom was right /I wear her sneakers instead