Los Zapatos

by Manuel Ávalos

I don’t tell Mami that I need new shoes.

I don’t show her the scuffs and holes

or tell her that the rain soaked through my socks.

Otherwise she yokes herself all day and night

Comes home

with muscles knotted like yarn

peels her skin off

tans it

and fashions it into a new pair.

Manuel Ávalos is a recent graduate, poet, musician, and occasional stand-up comedian based out of San José, California. He is a two-time semi-finalist at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational. More of his work can be found on Instagram @elmanuelavalos.