Student Publishing Program ::

Emma Hede-Brierley

Footsteps

Molds of feet in the sand
Irritating in their perfection
Challenge me to disturb them.
To squish my toes into their sandy molds
To feel the watery sand giving way under my weight
With purpose I alter their presence.

Froths of foam on the waves
Crashing onto the shore,
Steel grey tides advancing,
Erasing, blurring
The footsteps I long to crush.

Their disappearance awakens fear
Of losing my purpose to confront their perfection.
I run
To save their once perfect molds,
Their history within the sand.

Racing against the tide,
The once pleasant squish of the sand
Envelopes my feet and swallows my speed,
Forcing me to run faster, harder.
Going nowhere in contrast to the tides.

Echoes of waves keep time with my feet
Slapping the sand with merciless force.
I arrive
To witness the last footstep blur into the sand
Its absence outlined by the lingering foam of the waves.

Defeated by the incessant tides
I turn my back on their victory lap,
Feeling them splash my feet in mockery
I notice
Blindly forged by desperation and determination
Sandy and flawed, yet somehow perfect
Footsteps,
Confronting the path
Of those who have come before,
Challenging the many to follow,
Irritatingly beautiful in their existence.

[TABLE OF CONTENTS, LHS CLASS OF 2012 EDITION]