The Shoe Thief

A man opens our front door

and begins to steal our shoes.

Perhaps he needs more?

Perhaps he needs us to have fewer.

Why did we leave the door open

or rather,

unlocked?

Should we have expected

treachery?

In the other room there is food on the stove,

cooking quickly

too quickly

it might,

will,

has,

burned

We have plenty to eat

The door remains unlocked

the shoe thief sits down to dinner

barefoot.

Performed and Recorded by Blackbox Ensemble at UC Davis Pitzer Hall

March 6th 2026

Performers:

Conductor: Matt Schultheis

Flute: Annie Nikunen

Clarinet: Bradley Frizzell

Percussion: J Clancy

Piano: Yifei Xu

Soprano: Amber Evans

Violin: Madeline Hocking

Cello: Matthew Armbruster