Ode to a Pair of $5 Summer Vacation Flip-flops

it's true, we've made some memories,

shared good times and bad

(admittedly, mostly good),

and maybe I just didn't treat you

the way you deserved to be treated.

Maybe there could have been someone else,

someone better able to give you

the easy life

you might have desired,

even deserved–

but it's clear to me

from your look of exhaustion,

and the lines of weariness and fatigue

that crease your once pristine countenance,

that man

was never going to be me.

so forgive me

for bringing this all to such an end,

(because you really did come through

when I needed you most)

but it's become clear to me

that although we've shared those days

of sunshine and sudden rain

you're just not what I need

(though maybe just what I'd expected),

and so, here,

under the hot sun

and in the warm breeze

as I prepare myself for the long drive

back to reality

and the challenges of life,

I bid you gratefully,

and fondly,

farewell.