Cleatus

there is a little man trapped in the mesh of my shoe

and

there is nothing I can do to help him

no, I am not the one

for every time I reach down too let him out the great shadow of my hand falls over him and he moans and shivers and chatters his teeth
every time I raise my foot up to a surface to let him off, he clutches at his throat and gasps for air in the altitude
every time I take my shoe off, he holds onto the agnet of my shoelace for dear life, begging his tiny grip to hold

lately, I've been investigating our options of communication
sometimes I think he is calling out to me, but even the greatest of his bellows register only as squeaks to my ears
when I whisper back, he recoils in pain and fear, pressed hard against the mesh of the toe my shoe hard from the wind coming from my mouth
it doesn't seem we'll be able to speak to each other, a shame

certainly, sign language is out of the question (I only know the signs for the letters m, n, and j (and even if his knowledge of the language were to overlap, it would be of limited value anyway))
i've tried charades, somewhat regrettably
i think we are both happy to leave that behind us

it would seem that he doesn't have much time left
i wonder what my role in his reality has been
i wonder just how many others are stuck on my shoe