by Sonia Nicholson
at the door leave the dirt the bitter pine out back dear let me hold
your pretty feet on my lap (yes, Pretty) please i don’t mind the cold
because toes take hold when beaches fill the screen the sand
scours your rough edges. rip away the socks you can’t stand
or would you rather skip to the kitchen cheap checkerboard lino
not slip to Spirit of the West but lurch, writhe (for a rest) home
roll each foot along unrolled yoga mat, reverse warrior — press!
— stamping up, stamping you with raised grip namaste, step
in the shower, flail over the single loose hair that lands across
your left arch always. slip into fresh sheets, blissfully lost
remember or dream summer front steps, the grain of wood down
to blistering drive (footwear so confining) blister-free to grass-bound,
ever cool. toss the shoes, please, better to stay (open door) bare
even bits of gravel, Beauty, are beauty, forcing the deliberate, aware
we forget when we outgrow ourselves, young soles lived in, lived on
© Sonia Nicholson
Sonia Nicholson (she/her) ’s work has appeared in Inspirelle, Literary Heist, Pinhole Poetry, Heimat Review, Rivanna Review, and others. Her writing explores themes of identity, family, and place. A Portuguese Canadian, she was born and raised in Osoyoos, British Columbia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in French and Spanish from the University of Victoria and continues to call Victoria home. Her debut novel Provenance Unknown was published in 2023 (Sands Press) and 2025 (She Rises Studios), and she has written two more. She is also the author of a poetry chapbook, Asleep/Awake (Stripes Literary Magazine).
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