Shoe-Shopping

[Achebe]

Hi opera - loved this one. Please post more like it. Some thoughts below.

My Ragged shoes are past their expiration date,
and quickly becoming an embarrassment.  ...nice opening. While I've heard 'expiration date' for shoes before, it's still fresh. 
Nothing more than a bag full of trash  ...I don't think you need a metaphor here. But if you do, 'seams' in the next line is a confusing word as it makes me think of the shoes again instead of the garbage bag, and I waste some time trying to figure out where this is going.
whose seams give out just as you reach the trash bin.
Sadistically spewing rotten garbage from a soiled mouth,
leaving an odorous haze as my insides are scraped off the pavement. ...not sure about what you're trying to say now - do your shoes stink when you take them off? in that case, what are your insides being scraped off the pavement? socks? It's confusing and distracting, and ultimately, an unnecessary metaphor. See above. It'd be better if you stuck to a literal description of your shoes here, IMO.
 
beaten and battered.
but the shoes next to me, ...might consider 'in front of me' as that's how a typical shoe shop stacks its shoes i.e. against a wall
polished and new. ...I like how you end this strophe here, closing off chapter 1 and beginning chapter 2 after the break.
 
Light bounces off of them like a disco ball ...lovely
speaking with each step, ‘tip-tap tip-tap’ ...might need a comma after 'ball' else it looks like the ball speaks with each step
 
Suddenly, I’m a new man;
a showman. ...nice.
 
But, I become nothing more than a twisted ankle dangling below ...nice change in rhythm as you move from observation to thinking in mental pictures.
a bum knee, barely mobile, but unnervingly frantic.
Constantly counting to eight, not knowing how to
save a dying art from the onslaught of heavy-set linebackers.  ...I'm not familiar enough with american football to figure out what a linebacker does, but it sounds right!
 
squeaky and suffocating,
but the shoes next to me ...I'd prefer 'next to them' rather than repeating 'next to me'
modest and comfy. ...again, closing a chapter and pausing. Great device. Love it.
 
Warmth seemingly radiates from their very soles.
the comfort they offer draws me in like warm cup of  tea. ...missing 'a'
 
Suddenly, I’m a different person;
easy-going.
 
But, I become nothing more than a sloth inching closer to
leaves on a distant tree, and further from the solid ground below.
Hungry for nothing but the passing of time and the generous ...'hungry for nothing but the passing of time' - fantastic! also, nice enjambment
hand of another to give me just enough to meet tomorrow’s afternoon. 
 
cushy and coddling,
but I know it can’t last,
stagnant and complacent.
 
I’ve found soup too cold, too hot, but not just right.
but the patch of grass next to me looks lush and vivid. ....now realistically, if you're in a shoe store, you can't have a patch of grass 'next to you', unless it's an open air shoe shop in a meadow, which would be unusual. 'the grass in the meadow' / 'the grass outside' are ok
 
Barefoot, blades of grass reach up and tickle my feet.
Barefoot, twigs startle me, and the ants great my feet. ...you meant 'greet', but 'greet my feet' is twee. perhaps 'feast / on my feet'. Though the repetition of 'my feet' is something to avoid. But I loved the change in mood at the end. Brilliant.
Just right. ...yes!!