i spent 100 consecutive days
grunting huffing straining
to force my hefty toes into those tiny little cinderella slippers

lathered them up
with crisco

smothered and covered them
with vaseline

made my friend ride me piggy back
while i jumped up and down
hoping gravity and double-pressure
might do the trick

when that didn't work
i resorted to hammer and chisel
hacking away pieces
for that cozy cushy fit

but despite the
sweat
tears
heave
ho
push
pull
tug
that little glass slipper
didn't want to budge

it took a whole lot of blisters
and even more bruises
to figure out
that maybe
just maybe

i wasn't quite the little cinderella
i thought i was