Life is like a pair of tap shoes.

Perfect, shiny and smooth on the outside,

And a strong, supportive sole when you first get them.

You start out by taking baby steps,

And with a lot of training and practice, you thrive.

These years are not pretty, however.

Each missed sound and messed up step,

Each loose screw and scuff mark on the shoes all have their own story,

Just like the memories in our heads and the marks and scars on our bodies.

You grow out of tap shoes as the years go by

Or they become so damaged they can no longer be worn.

They lose color and become rough-looking, and the sole weakens from all the use.

Sometimes this happens in life; people hurt so bad they don’t want to live with who they have become.

Their soul is old and tired, quite different from when they first were born.

The only difference between a pair of tap shoes and life

Is that you can always buy another pair of tap shoes, but you cannot buy another life.