Steps on Fragile Ground

A child’s fingers gathered sand

and built a kingdom on the shore.

Towers rose by careful hand,

a dream caught on a fragile floor.

Then feet thundered, careless, loud,

stomping down the wet domain.

Silence crushed beneath that cloud—

a crumble, crackle, dull refrain.

Edges blurred by soggy prints,

castles bowed to sudden force.

Small hands wiped away the hints,

but stories broke their shallow course.

A castle held by fleeting hands,

then shattered under careless feet.

Fragile as the shifting sands,

a kingdom lost without defeat.