Pretty Little Toes - Oct. 4, 2026

they arrive perfect, don’t they?

five flawlessly sprouted appendages

a tiny nail for each pink perfection

declaring the joy of being alive

we kick those little pink members

as hard as we can

more living changes that

stuffed into shoes and sneakers,

some bend from dead ends

others break from hard ends

with even more life

nails turn black or clawlike

grow crooked, split or fall off

toes no longer the sisterhood,

a family of quintuplets,

now living hard and alone

some remove their socks privately,

ashamed to expose that family,

the tough life they’ve had

but when it’s hot

I see them sandalled in sunlight

squishing stiffly on the sidewalk

and look down at my own

and remember once upon a time

I too, had pretty little toes