Suppose you didn’t have feet anymore and you were
removed from the dirt where the rot always starts,
so you don’t have to scrub your white shoes again,
or bandage the blisters to hide your limp.

Suppose your ugly wounds disappeared with your feet
along with the oozing – almost – a callus
but you were still hurting, still dirty, still bleeding,
and couldn’t show anyone where the pain was rooted.