My feet have been attached to sandals
most of the summer (fear of stepping on prickles
in bare feet). But on the first day of autumn
I walk barefoot in the field, and it tickles
my sole and my soul – where the grass is green
I feel my feet sinking into its soft sheen
and where the grass is dry I expect it to feel
brittle and scratchy, but it doesn’t! My feet
are walking on golden velvet. It feels luxurious.
My feet are stretching
like happy cats
on the grass
underneathe them.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell