Boot

I saw a single cowboy boot,

brown, upright on a sidewalk.
It pointed toward the painted
crosswalk it stood beside.

Had its inhabitant stepped out
of it and limped across the street
into a single-booted life?
Or had he hauled the other boot

along, walking in socks?
The tokens of absurdity,
calamity, defeat, and sadness
are strewn across all cities.

Of course they are: masses
of people, masses of things
and accidents and fractured
fates. Oh, stride on, stride on,

single-booted city cowboy.

hans ostrom 2025