pulled off my rubber
gumboots
my woollen Army and Navy socks
rolled real silk stockings up my calves
eased each foot
into spectator pumps
kid leather he said
we grinned together
in the oval oak mirror
I said how much
$295 he said
I laughed said it was impossible
it's not what this is about he said
and brought out twelve white boxes
of $295 size ten shoes
in black, in satin, in suede, in pearl,
for every fit he knelt
on one knee, his other an inch from mine
and traced with thick fingers
a heel, a seam, an arch
they're beautiful
just relax
he said
sliding my feet in
and out