Barefoot

Go barefoot
if you want to know
the suck of mud,
the gutter’s flow;

the soft of dust,
the cool of grass,
the wet and dry
as seasons pass;

the sting of bee,
the stub of toe,
the itch of burr,
the bruise that slows;

the smooth of glass,
the rough of rust,
paths to avoid,
and paths to trust;

the hot of asphalt,
the cold of snow,
important things
a child should know,

and as important
for a man
to take shoes off:
barefoot again.