coyote took my shoe

 coyote took my shoe


by

jules f. delorme





coyote took my shoe.
nikakwaho'ta':'ah took my shoe.
she wanted my shoe and i gave it to her and now she went and run off with my shoe.
it’s gonna be hard walking back. a long way. and the railroad track is all pebbles and rocks.
sharp rocks.
hot metal.
that’s gonna be hard on my socking foot.
railroad tracks are the best place to find nikakwaho'ta':'ah. she and i been meeting up here for over a month now. sometimes i give her some of my protein bar. sometimes we play. sometimes she just wants me to scratch behind her ears.
this is the first time she wanted my shoe.
this is the first time she took my shoe.
walking back is really gonna hurt.
maybe i should just take the sock off and go bare foot. maybe i should take the other shoe off and then both socks but it’s all pebbles and stones and the sun has made the rails too hot and the wood planks between the rails are probably going to be full of slivers.
i’m going to look mighty silly walking all that way with just one shoe.
i can still see her in the distance with my shoe hanging from one side of her mouth.
that coyote is crazy. everybody knows how crazy that nikakwaho'ta':'ah is.
maybe if i just wait here she’ll bring my shoe back.
who am i kidding.
who am it trying to kid.
that coyote is never bringing my shoe back. not today anyways. next time i come back she’ll have that shoe all chewed up to bits probably.
that nikakwaho'ta':'ah sure is crazy.
but she’s got my shoe and i don’t.
and now she’s gone.
i can’t even see her anymore.
guess it’s time to walk home. to hobble home.
man it’s gonna hurt.
anybody sees me they’re gonna think i’m crazy. only a crazy person would walk around with just one shoe.
but coyote sure looked happy when i let her take it.
it’s too hot to walk all that way in bare feet. gonna try with with the sock. at least that way I’ll end up with one foot that doesn’t hurt.
man this is gonna hurt.
might take me forever to get home.
but i’ll probably come back tomorrow or the day after that.
with different shoes.
i probably won’t let her take one of those shoes.
i probably won’t.
but then again maybe i will.
maybe i’m about as crazy as that coyote.
maybe i’m about as crazy as that nikakwaho'ta':'ah.
man oh manee man is this gonna hurt.
i sure hope nikakwaho'ta':'ah has fun with my shoe.
i sure hope coyote likes playing with my shoe.


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#writing #writer #writers #poetry #poem #poems #poet #JulesDelorme #JulesFDelorme #delormewriting #ScarboroughWritersFightClub #blind #native #indigenous #indigenousstory #indegenousstories #indigenousstorytelling #funny #funnystories #mohawk #mohawkstories #kanienkaha #coyote #coyotetookmyshoe

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