Hill of Little Shoes by   Clive James

I live in the shadow of a hill
A hill of little shoes
I love but I shiver with a chill
A chill I never lose
I live, I love, but where are they?
Where are their lives, their loves? All blown away
And every little shoe is a foot that never grew
Another day

If you could find a pair and put them on the floor
Make a mark in the air like the marks beside your door
When you were growing
You’d see how tall they were

And the buckles and the laces they could do up on their own
Or almost could
With their tongue-tips barely showing
Tell you how small they were

And then you’d think of little faces looking fearfully alone
And how they stood
In their bare feet being tall for the last time
Just to be good
And that was all they were

They were like you in the same year but you grew up
They were barely even here before they suddenly weren’t there
And while you got dressed for bed they did the same but they were led
Into another room instead
And they were all blown away into thin air

?I live in the shadow of a hill
A hill of little shoes
I love but I shiver with a chill
A chill I never lose
And I caught that cold when I was chosen to grow old
In the shadow of a hill of little shoes