Salt and Iron

(6)
I saw a tiny shoe in the middle of the street
And thought of a little boy asleep
While he rode pillion to his mum's seat
She'd yell at the boy for negligence
Before being overcome with affection
And kissing his sad cheeks

(5)
But of course it's only stories
For aren't we all salt and iron
Within imagined boundaries,
Aren't we amid fictive structures
And ties that we think bind?

(5)
If I call out to my brethren
From across the bordered waters
Will he recognise me as his own?
For we're both afraid of germs and steel
That awaken monsters under the blue dome

(8)
Chemicals and protein though we are
Isn't it the same stuff we yearn?
As we turn the icy atmosphere
Into visible breath that's warm
So maybe it isn't just salt and iron
That fill up some old shoes
Because of course it's the stories
Through labels, roles and territories