Student Publishing Program ::

Amy Patterson

Dear Mica

I has been a long time.
Do you remember me?
We used to be the best of friends.

When I think of you,
I should smell the field of lupine.
I should feel the grit of fine beach sand.
I should hear the chirping of baby swallows.
I should see the snow flurry under the deep blue sky.
I should taste the golden raspberries still warm from the sun.
I should remember the good times.

But I don’t.
These memories have faded,
Like forgotten driftwood,
Alone,
Under the sun.

What sticks fresh in my mind
Is the last fateful day
When I saw you,
Red hair flipping in the wind,
Eyes daring the world to challenge you,
But the only challenge,
Came from me.

I see moments,
Frozen snapshots,
Each one has a mistake,
Something I wish to remake,
The path in your backyard,
The low stonewall dotted with lichen,
The horse’s mane- dark as forest shadows,
The parents.

I’m different now,
I’m sure you’ve changed,
We have both aged.

Can you forget?
And live in the moment?
A birdsong.
A sunray.
A golden raspberry.
A wave washing the shore clean.

Erase the footprints of the past.

[TABLE OF CONTENTS, LHS CLASS OF 2011 EDITION]