An Innocent Question

By Sarah Valeika

Do people wear shoes in Hell?
she asked, tugging
her mother’s black slacks,
and poking her stilettos
with one toe.
Why? her mother asks, laughing
the way someone does
when they’ve never considered
how poorly their clothes fit
or how their toes are pinched
until someone suggests they might feel
“uncomfortable.”
What a weird question, her mother laughs
nudging her daughter off
her toes, smoothing
her slacks, brushing
her hair again into one blonde iron
curtain about her face
that not even the devil
could pry open. 

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