File #2254: "Matthews_Burning Soles.pdf"

The Burning Soles of My Feet
Today I sat beneath the sun
and let its teeth sink into my outstretched legs,
my arms tucked beneath my back in shadow.
Today I reached for the endless sky—
fingers outstretched in all of their insatiable greed—
and imagined myself taking off my shoes and
stepping into the sky’s cool
blue body like a pool
meant for swimming.
Today I watched timid green leaves
bask in a golden sunset,
a school of pink-stained clouds swimming above
my head as I eyed haphazard bumblebees
and imagined a place unknown.
Today I pulled off my shoes,
my socks,
and stepped into the sky—
burning the soles of my feet
unexpectedly
in the melting pool of sun while
searching for a place
I’ll never find.
Bio
Callie Matthews is a freshman at Mississippi State University majoring in psychology and
minoring in creative writing. She is a proud resident of the Magnolia State, and its natural
beauty influences her poetry a great deal. She enjoys many aspects of life, such as tacos and
eighties' synth music, and believes everything is a story worth telling.