Red Boots

Red Boots

     Joy S. Barefoot

I wanted red boots,
red rubber boots
like the other girls wore
when I was six, or seven;
wonderful boots,
smacking mud puddles,
boots with soft
fuzzy white linings
rolled over
and hugging pale
winter legs.

I wore black galoshes.

My chafed legs
and damp feet
resented
those red boots
the other girls wore
when I was six, or seven.

When I was older

I had red boots,
but it was not a time
for red boots.