Cloudwatching

Over the endless azure plain above
Two wisps of whitest fiber lazily drift
Not caring where the wind leads them or why.
As if to mirror the two far below
Who lie in a field not of blue but green
I float, held up by blissful freedom, calm
until:
            “It’s too bright.”
Buoyant thoughts now hesitate.
I tell her I would lie out here all day
And wish I had that freedom and that time.
            “You’d sunburn.”
I turn my head so slightly, subtly
To glance again at what she’ll never see
Black hair like silk weaves intricately through
The blades of grass, which bend to hold her gently
I fear to think what might be her reply
I say nothing and look back to the blue
A solitary aimless cloud drifts by.

by Kira Swope
10th grade, ‘Iolani School