The Broken Sandal

Denise Levertov

 
Dreamed the thong of my sandal broke.
Nothing to hold it to my foot.
How shall I walk?
        Barefoot?
The sharp stones, the dirt. I would
hobble.
And– 
Where was I going?
Where was I going I can't
go to now, unless hurting?
Where am I standing, if I'm
to stand still now?
 
"The Broken Sandal" by Denise Levertov, from Poems 1968-1972, copyright © 1970 by Denise Levertov. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

Poems by This Author

Ikon: The Harrowing of Hell by Denise Levertov
Down through the tomb's inward arch
In California During the Gulf War by Denise Levertov
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Losing Track by Denise Levertov
Long after you have swung back
Mass for the Day of St. Thomas Didymus [excerpt] by Denise Levertov
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Sojourns in the Parallel World by Denise Levertov
We live our lives of human passions,
St. Peter and the Angel by Denise Levertov
Delivered out of raw continual pain,
The Great Black Heron by Denise Levertov
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The Métier of Blossoming by Denise Levertov
Fully occupied with growing--that's
The Mutes by Denise Levertov
Those groans men use
The Secret by Denise Levertov
Two girls discover
The Sharks by Denise Levertov
Well then, the last day the sharks appeared
When We Look Up by Denise Levertov
He had not looked