MARY RUEFLE

Ballad

When the heel came off my shoe
I knew I was condemned to die.
I came into this world laughing
like one who had wept enough.
Hung in the 18th century
under a vague sun
for a pavane crime,
this morning I put my feet
on the floor and all that.
One by one thoughts came into me
and I left them there.
One by one they cried
please don't murder me,
I am your offspring!
Which is what I said to the passerby
when the heel came off my shoe
and I knew I was condemned to die.