Dangerous footwear

“Winter” (1876) by Julius Sergius von Klever

“….the street
is too icy old women in pointy shoes
and high heels pass him their necks
in fur collars bent their eyes watch
their small slippery feet’’

— From “Winter Afternoon,’’ by Grace Paley (1922-2007). The poet and short-story writer lived in Thetford, Vt., from the early ‘90s to her death.

Main Street in Thetford in 1912.