Matching Tattoos

i notice

his shoelaces

bright blue on dark blue sneakers

drawstring

whats your name i ask

he looks at me and laughs

we bike along the river

two kids on a mission

i wear two blue sneakers

drawstring too

we stop at a bench and he looks over

“how come you dont have laces”

“they didn’t keep me grounded”

he laughs and said “me too”

its been years since then

we became best friends and talk every day

i smile at the memory and look down

at my foot

where the tattoo is

the one we both got, together

that day we met

on the top of our feet

one black shoelace

wrapped around our foot, tied

it has kept us grounded ever since