Ode to Broken Big Toe

barring the occasional nail clipping or two.

Unappreciated and unnoticed for the service you render,

unsoothed at day's end when you're aching and tender.

But on that woeful day that your fate came to pass,

when I carelessly kicked a box and you shattered like glass.

And now when I walk you lament a reminder,

with each painful step that I should be much kinder.

Now my balance is shaky, my stride not as quick,

for my big toe is ailing, it's broken, it's sick.

Wrapped in white tape and padded with gauze,

and wearing a loose shoe to aid in the cause.

I now pay you mind as you blossom with hues,

deep shades of purple mixed with yellows and blues.

Mend my big toe, my largest toe, mend.

Heal so that you can wriggle, tap, flex, and bend.

I vow to be careful and mindful of you,

and to never kick a box without a steel toed shoe.