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Mandragora/The Shoes

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Published in Mandragora (1917)

572385The ShoesJohn Cowper Powys

THE SHOES


I HAVE a pair of new shoes.
   They are nice. They have low heels."
So her letter says, and the brief words bruise
   My soul and break deep seals.

It is strange! I have talked with her
   Of the wistful tears of things;
Of the earth and the gods and the thoughts that stir
The soul, as a wave-tossed voyager
   Is stirred by the touch of wings.

But nothing of all I said
   Of the gods and the fatal sky,
And the magical stars that over each head
   Go heavy with destiny,
Had half such power to bruise;
   Or break such world-deep seals,
As, "I have a pair of new shoes.
   They are nice. They have low heels."

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1963, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 60 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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