Dear Cobbler

Dear cobbler who will make my shoes,

Please be mindful of what you use

Don’t use leather for it’s of an animal 

That has not done any harm to us.

Don’t use cotton

Way too many things are made out of it

And I am afraid it shall run out.

Don’t use silk

It’s too expensive for someone who earns forty rubles a month

And I am afraid I can’t afford it.

Don’t use glitter to decorate the straps

I am afraid I would not want to wear it as I walk down the broken road

Where people with torn clothes sit.

Make them out of dry, fallen leaves

Decorate them with petals

Make them strong enough to withstand 

The pressure mankind puts on the earth.

Someone might come along and ask for them

And I will gladly give,

And watch the dark drops mark another invisible suffering.