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Letters From Delight Nigeria Student @ Prince Abubakar Audu University Kogi State.
In Literature, Writing and Blogging 2 min read
Don't Tell Me To Put Myself In Your Shoes
<p style="text-align: center; "><span style="font-size: 10.5px; vertical-align: sub;">Because I have shoes too. </span></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>They are not bougie, nor Nike, nor Gucci, nor Zara, nor Chanel. They were carefully crafted with piercing thorns, </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>and they do not remind me of my favourite artist, Johnny Drille, either. </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>They are the kind that give up on you after three months.</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub><br/></sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>I have used these shoes to tread on paths I thought would break me. </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>Constantly, they are on my feet, </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>and even though there are patches underneath, </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>they are not the kind you can dispose of— </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>Well, because I have only one pair.</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub><br/></sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>They have experienced more seasons</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub> than Jollof has seasonings. </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>They know the taste of mud, cracked ground, </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>and bushy paths.</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub><br/></sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>Nature doesn’t even recognize my footprints.</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub><br/></sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>And while you tread your journey through life, </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>don’t lace my ears with your problems— </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>at least not until you look at my feet. </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>Don’t compare the character of my pair to yours. </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>The last time I checked,</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub> the tracks we run aren’t leg-specific. </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>We run differently.</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub><br/></sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>These shoes aren’t even pricey, </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>yet I get the most piercing. </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>You are quick to judge— quick to judge that other people also have thorn shoes.</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub> But when did we start comparing the intensity of worn-out shoes?</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub><br/></sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>I thought you would simply offer to buy me a new pair—</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub> a pair I could wear with a smile.</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub> Because for the longest time I’ve walked these miles, </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>I haven’t smiled.</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub><br/></sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>You blab, as if I have lived before </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>and have life all figured out. </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>If these shoes could speak, </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>we would hold a conference to cry.</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub><br/></sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>My mother told me they were passed down from generations. But I swear, I did not ask to be given these shoes. </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>This weight on my legs was without consent.</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub><br/></sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>And while you go around discrediting my shoes, </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>bear in mind that some things in life -</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>are beyond our control.</sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub><br/></sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>I’m not saying my issues are the worst. </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>All I am saying is: </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><sub>Don’t tell me to put myself in your shoes, </sub></p><p style="text-align: center; "><span style="font-size: 10.5px;"><strong>BECAUSE I HAVE SHOES TOO. </strong></span></p>
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Don't Tell Me To Put Myself In Your Shoes
By Letters From Delight 22 plays
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Competition entry | World Poetry Day

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My entry for the world poetry day: I have a very bad flu that's why the audio is this way. Please bare with me.
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