his shoes
a pair of men’s
casual oxfords
missing laces
painted white
inside and out
and nailed
to this telephone pole
on MD 355 in Gaithersburg
in front of the Goodwill store
just north of the Liberty station
above them on a piece of board
also painted white
his name
in black letters
with two tiny hearts
cut through the wood
one to the left of the “D”
the other to the right of the “Z”
and colored blue
by the cloudless sky
behind them.