Footprints And Sandpipers Poem by Jim Yerman

FOOTPRINTS AND SANDPIPERS

On a recent walk along the beach…where the ocean meets the land
what captured my attention were all the footprints in the sand.

We watched sandpipers darting to and fro
tiptoeing between the water and the land
pursuing their next meal…leaving tiny footprints in the sand.

We saw people walking, families playing, children making castles with their hands.
while others laughed, or ran, or skipped…leaving footprints in the sand.

It wasn't just how many there were…spreading out across the land
It was also the diversity…of those footprints in the sand.

I kept wondering…were they young or old…
gay or straight
black or white…
was it a woman or a man
who walked this beach before us and left these footprints in the sand?

As you walk along the beach you feel a harmony
with the sky…the sea…the land…
and that day I felt that same harmony with those footprints in the sand.

And I had to smile as we walked…thinking…wouldn't it be grand…
if the only way to judge a person…was by their footprints in the sand?

Would there be prejudice and bigotry?
Would people be ridiculed…or banned
If the only way to judge them was from their footprints in the sand?

And I wondered if we should all be more like sandpipers
who, as they scamper, dash and stand,
tread softly
and live in harmony…
while making footprints in the sand.

Who understand the key to life
is to live nobly
and dignified
and grand…
before our time is up
and the tide washes away
our footprints in the sand.