Waiting-

Standing on cold stone, 

Shorewood High School letters looming,

First step into the next four years alone,

Knuckles white around backpack straps, 

heartbeat booming.

The first year-

We started out small and bold, 

Forging new friendships, pushing old limits, 

So much time ahead, all of youth left to unfold,

Earnest, eager, excited by the promise three more years elicits. 

Frozen in time-

Human faces muted and pixelated,

A strange mix of fear and safety inside,

We learned world history and made it, 

We searched for our own voices, and in the silence, they replied.

Then blinks-

Back, rushing waves in the hallway,

Swept into preparation, piles of worry return

But with new freedom, new joy blooming all day, 

Against all odds, all fears, again we learn.