Masks
by Tallulah Nagae, 8
Seattle, WA
On a walk deep in the woods
I tell my mom I don’t want to
wear masks anymore
The mask feels icky
from the heat of my mouth
that I am breathing
Masks do help you
not get sick but I still
do not like them
Papa and I experiment
decorating my kid masks
with heart stickers
The first day back at school
we forgot to fill out the health
form but I still got in
Entering school felt weird
and exciting seeing only half
of the old and new faces
My teacher wears a face
shield and drinks coffee
steam rises and gets it all foggy
I miss running on the grassy field
without a mask on and breathing
the fresh nature air
I want to be able to see
my friends and family
in person every day
We will be free
of this pandemic soon
if only we all believe