Hi there! I wrote this poem during my sophomore year of college. COVID was still running rampant, virtual classes were hard and awkward, and I felt overwhelmed just about every day.
Then, on a random October evening in the middle of the semester, I saw a beautiful sunset glowing into my bedroom window on Parsons Street. Running outside to meet it, I found comfort in the brilliance of the sky. I’m sharing the poem of this story here, with you. I hope it reminds you to make space for beautiful moments, big and small, even on those long, stressful days. (And to always remember your socks, too!)
To the person who finds my black ankle socks at the top of Fisher Stadium
I was working on an exam
trying to pull words from a brain that did not want to make them
when I saw yellow light cast across my taupe-colored walls
bathing the world in gold
I did not think to grab my sneakers
I sprinted out of my house, sock-feet slipping on damp concrete
everything smelled like rain and second chances
and I found myself at the football field
The sky was aflame with color
as if fire had risen from below and kissed the sky
lavender clouds of smoke curling through the buttery glow
I climbed to the top of the stadium
my socks cold and wet in my haste
pulling them off
I took a seat
and leaned against the banister
cold metal biting my legs through worn jeans
watching the flames burn into darkness
It was only when the sunset had been faded by time that I rose
my eyes alight with the afterimage of transitory beauty
I did not think to grab my socks
too entranced by the way the world had changed around me
the stadium had been bathed in pink light just moments ago
the sidewalk was sharp as I walked back home
To the person who finds my black ankle socks at the top of Fisher Stadium:
I confess to you, though unintentionally, my secret moment
the mesmerizing minutes I spent on those bleachers
my hair frizzy from the drizzling rain
socks beside me, discarded, unaware they’d be left behind
as I watched the sky burn
My socks an echo of a moment that was temporary
a moment that was mine
and, I suppose, a moment that is now yours, too