Sheep, grazing in the fields,
each one’s nose following the other’s furry tail.
We are like these cloud brained sheep, numbly following the shepherd.
Me, I was the same, sitting at a stained, cracked desk typing away.
My window was open,
and a leaf drifted through,
the type of leaf that seems to be the same as any other,
but I saw it anyway. I got up,
my keyboard falling,
falling and splintering on the drab carpeted floor.
My eyes are spinning,
swirling now.
The leaf goes back out the open window,
and I chase it, right out the window.
Now I have my quest, and I follow it diligently,
skimming over the oceans, and soaring above the earth.
I am carefree,
alive.
Until I see you. Just that one glance of you disrupts all of my work,
you have deadened me.
My little leaf soars away, and I do not follow.
You, with your jacket flying in the wind, I can’t get you out of my mind.
You are beautiful, and strong, and clever too.
You are my highest idol, and I need to meet you, I scramble over the underbrush, desperately seeking you,
but you are forever unattainable.
But taking a glance in the mirror, I finally see.
The you I was seeking, is me as I should have been.
I cast off my wings, and plummet back to earth to join you.

—

Rebecca Oet is a student from Solon, Ohio, USA.  She enjoys reading, writing short stories and poetry, and of course, taking pictures. Rebecca is a national silver medalist in the 2015 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and has won multiple awards for her writing and photography. She often fantasizes about growing wings and flying through the air.