The Sand in between my toes
by Maya Abouav - Age 12
The sand in between my toes,
The waves crashing into my ears,
A gray cloud around me,
The sea foam running near.
My friend sits beside me
Her thumbs hopping on her screen
Her eyes glazed and attentive,
Fixed to her own machine.
I sit in a pit of yellow sand,
Watching away the time,
Restless at the repeating sights.
Unsatisfied.
I sigh.
I hear a quiet tap and everything freezes.
The noises stop.
The children in the sand pause.
The eagle in mid air,
A clam gripped by its claws.
I turn to my friend,
It appears she’s still moving,
My melting pot of thoughts are clear,
And I step - my feet are cruising.
In front of me is the ocean,
Still moving, still spry,
My friend follows me,
And then - I dive.
And so I open my eyes.
Awakeness flows through me,
My last hair dances underneath,
The salty water envelops my friend and I,
And then I breathe.
My friend right beside me,
Our vision now unveils
That instead of legs behind us,
We have shimmering black tails.
Our eyesight becomes sharp,
Hearts are loud and beating,
I take a last peek above,
Time had resumed its being.
As we sprouted fins and gills,
My friend in perfect sync,
I realized we had turned black,
And then we began to shrink.
It took us a few moments,
For our minds to fully start,
For we finally understood,
We had become sharks.
A flood of new opportunities swept over me,
My friend and I were meant,
To explore the wonder we now were,
And so - off we went.
Tween Poetry Award - This stunning poem with its twists and unexpected imagery pulled us into its world. At one point we think the girl is going to be a mermaid, or seal, but no a shark. We love the line "to explore the wonder we now were." Beautiful. I can feel the water flowing around me as I read it.
Comments: Judges said "I was captured by its wonder," and "I love the twist in this one."
Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels.com
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