The Toenail Elegies

I trimmed my nails in thoughtful gloom,
Each clipping curled like a pale half-moon.
They landed soft on the parquet floor—
A quiet rebellion against décor.

“How tragic,” I mused, “that beauty flakes,
In arcs of ivory and minor aches.”
The sink, impassive, watched them fall—
The feet of man are vain, and small.

picture of a foot