Tv advertises cloud-soft slippers that convert
to shoes with an easy whisk. Halfways. 
Rabbits out of hats. Elsewhere, old men puzzle
outside mosques trying to remember
which worn black shoes are theirs.

The Japanese have special slippers, Geta,
for outside strolls. Serene water, pom-pom 
blossom, silk rustling in bamboo. Stillness.
Garden walks, careful steps along stones on the way 
to the endless world of borrowed scenery.

I love how my slippers wait, I've no need 
for fawning pets. Servant shoes partner up
while I'm out. Best are the felt floppers, 
my dead-of -night choice, repelling lino attacks,
and deep drain spiders. Woollen warriors.

About the author

Gardener, Granny, Finola Scott writes to try to understand the world. Her latest pamphlet ’Trembling Earth’ considers the Climate Crisis. Writing in Scots and  English, her poems gain competition success. Find her work in The Irish Pages, NWS, Consilience, Cabhsair. More info at Fb Finola Scott Poems, and the Scottish Poetry Library.