She grew up accepting the backhanded slap
of her mother’s words and the weight of her father’s silence.
When she turned 16 she got her first pair of red heels,
a gift from her parents to send her out into the world
they had envisioned for her.
She wore them to her prom, graduation,
and her first job interview at her father’s large corporation.
She even wore them to her almost wedding
before slipping through the back door.
Years later when she finally accepted
a date from the sweet boy who had lived
down the street her whole childhood life,
she wore her infamous red heels.
He smiled a bit when she entered his truck but didn’t say a word.
He drove her down to his favorite bayou.
She stared at him in awe but he didn’t say a
word as he stopped the truck and opened the
car door for her.
She hesitated before throwing the shoes and
running barefoot into her first taste of freedom.
The red heels turned black with mud as they
sank into the depths of the Earth.