Storymakers: Feet Aren't The Only Things That Shape The World

Storymakers: Feet Aren't The Only Things That Shape The World

By Olivia
Eighth Grade
Kilo Middle School
Auburn, WA

After years I've finally noticed
Something.
I'd ponder it
While my feet mashed on
The muddled gravel
Beneath me,
Forming into miniature craters
That would be explored by small creatures later.
I thought even more
As the yellow foam of the Pacific
Lapped on my bare feet and caused the salty sand
To stick to me
My mind
Realized that each step I took, each step anyone took,
Affected something else.
This meant an ant's world
Was possibly turned upside down
When my foot came down
Onto that gravel.
This meant grains of salty sand
Were taken in a new direction as they stuck to my dampened toes.
But that can't be the only impact
I've given the world.
There were physical changes,
But mental ones, too.
Maybe on the way down
That familiar gravel road
I'd dropped some loose change,
And that loose change had
Fed someone nearby
Who stood inches from starvation.
Maybe.
Maybe if I really attempted some form of
Service towards others,
I'd be able to watch some benefit.
Maybe.
But all I can do is try.
And shape the world with my service.
Not just my feet.

Storymakers: A Creative Challenge for Young Writers, is a program inviting students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades living in Washington State and British Columbia, Canada, to submit their own original creative writing pieces.