Attractive Nuisance

by Charlotte Mathews

At the exhibit of unwearable shoes,
the woman beside me tells her
granddaughter about the dangers
of high heels, how they can trip
you up when you least expect it,
leave you bruised and muddled,
late for the event that made you
put on the things in the first place.
But these shoes aren’t for wearing.
They’re designed to tell stories
or to get us to tell our own, which
is exactly what my friend does,
explaining that we can be held liable
for an abandoned car or decrepit
trampoline hanging out in our side
yard. The legal term is attractive nuisance
and refers to any object that could lure
children who might not understand
the hazard, who routinely cherish
what adults no longer even see:
the heart shaped puddle,
the dandelion gone to seed.