In His Boots

From a pair of Roman boots,
the only pair ever found,
I try to reconstruct the man
from the ground up.
His chunky legs,
his muscled thighs,
strong back, taut abdomen,
deep chest, deep voice.

He must have held
a child in his arms,
looking down with loving eyes.
He must have held life
dear. And he lived here
at Vindolanda fort.

I wonder: Did he die here too?
Whether he left some genes
in this landscape,
to go with the boots?
Whoever he was I know
his story. He lived. He died.
These boots once had a soul.