Barefoot in a Winter World
My first steps, a shock,
bare feet on the cold white ground.
Soft powder covers
the world, a blanket of quiet.
My breath, a small cloud,
hovers in the frosty air.
I hear my sister's gasp,
my brother's shout of joy.
The cold stings my soles,
a thousand small needles.
I feel the small sting
and I want to run back,
back to the warm place.
But my mother smiles,
her hand warm in the cold air,
and my father laughs,
his voice a low rumble.
I keep on walking,
brave in the strange new cold.
My toes turn a pale blue,
a small person in a great world.
And the snow, a white whisper,
surrounds us all in silence,
a memory, a feeling, a dream.
I will never forget this
my first walk in the snow,
a white world I found
with my family, with love,
and my little blue toes.
Copyright ©
Jami Patterson
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