Footprints

Footprints
By Larissa Cox

Silence
The world is quiet
Not daring to move or even breath
An icy blanket of snow covers the ground
The early morning sunlight
Reflects off the snow like tiny stars
In a miniature sky
A trail of footprints is all
That disturbs the utter silence
Of the snow.
They lead across the ground to a white cat
Tail deep in snow
Watching
Waiting
A little bird hops on the ground
Late for moving south
The cat arches its back
Ready to spring
Fly away little bird!
But it’s too late
The cat is pouncing
The bird is falling
Red spatters the ground
As the bird breaths its last
The life that was once there
Gone in an instant
As though it were never there.
Somewhere in the world
Someone’s loved one is dying
A life is being taken from the world
But somewhere
A newborn child is crying
Announcing itself to the world
And
As if by magic
The miracle of life goes on.