Walking Home from School

Walking Home from School - Summer Haque (Fairmont Schools, Eighth Grade)

Books bog down my back,

Crunching leaves with each heavy step.

Sunscreen, salt water, and soft-serve now distant memories.

Early sunrises fade to early sunsets.

Children's laughter, once bright in the sun,

Fades as the days grow shorter, one by one.

From bright yellow and aquamarine,

To fiery red and evergreen.

Leaves falling as the days go by,

Streetlights steer me one day closer

To late nights under the stars,

Ice cream by the pool,

And when I finally won't have to walk home from school.