The horizon with shimmering blue from a massive light in the heavens.

                                                        Walking gently, not to startle the air I breathe,

                                                        I look to the moving fabric of color.

                                                        Embracing joy, hate, love, and destruction.

                                                        I throw them away.

                                                        Now, my eyes wonder,

                                                        A blanket appears,

                                                        Safety.

                                                        Darkness covers me,

                                                        But light remains from the ripples of the waves, fairies flying through the sky above,

                                                        Darkness protects me.

                                                        Sitting on a soft, shifty shore, I am overwhelmed.

                                                        With the burdens that hunt my very soul,

                                                        Time goes by as if in an instant.

                                                        Hours go by as if they were sitting next to me.

                                                        My soul drifts like the wood on a stream.

                                                        I sail away on a playground of thought,

                                                        Shaken back to reality by the thought of not being able to live my life to its

                                                        Fullest extent.

                                                        It is late now?

                                                        Too late for those in need of light,

                                                        The pitch black of night penetrates my very being,

                                                        Brush off the irritation and burdens that cover me.

                                                        Feel rejuvenated-

                                                        I dart to cleanse my soul and go on with my life with gusto and elegance.

Brandon Beck is a twelfth-grade student at Central High School in St. Joseph, MO.