Life Is Like a Sandcastle

Cooper Madison-Dawson

Life is like a sandcastle, that I make as I play

I use my time cautiously, to build my life everyday

I work and I work, I shape and I fail

But in the end, could my work prevail?

How much I can accomplish, all in one stay

It almost gives purpose, to the beach today

The water so far out, but it creeps ever closer

The pains of the inevitable, like an evil composer

Some spray here, and a spatter or two there

I rebuild quickly, in a state of disrepair

With every new wave, another must flow

With every new life, another sandcastle must go

I build my walls thick, and my towers so tall

I try my best, but the walls still fall

My moat is deep and wide,

but it can only stall the tide.

The water’s edge relentless, the swell rising slow

I fight and I fend, I don’t want to go

How much grander the sandcastle, against the evening view

What if I had spent my time, just to build with you?

The winds blow, the waves billow like sails

The sands crumble, our wakes in the trails

Was there a reason, why did we work so hard?

Why did I fight you sometimes? We didn’t gain a yard.

So the sands wash away, all the proof we had to bare

Will someone remember, that we were once there?

As the sun sets, nightfall must again

I fear not death, but what could have been

Could I have done better, could I have changed my mistakes?

Fruitless thoughts, and endless retakes.

I’m afraid now, of things I can’t begin to explain

If it was all for nothing, why does it hurt the same?

I shed tears, I wish it weren’t in vain

That somehow somewhere, there was gain

But this is the cycle, the waves must come and go

I cannot begin to understand, so I close my eyes, and let go.

Ella Ciffone

Biography: I love to create and play with different mediums. I make bad art until sometimes it turns out good. It’s about how it makes you feel while you make it and how it makes others feel when you share it.

Artist Statement: Cape lookout, where waves pound the shore. The wind on the hill takes your breath away and makes your eyes water.

Cooper Madison-Dawson

Biography: Cooper Madison-Dawson is a junior at Oregon State University, dually enrolled at Linn-Benton Community College, where he studies English and Creative Writing. His work has appeared in The Commuter, Linn-Benton’s student magazine. He also served as Technical Writer for the college’s robotics team, which competed in the 2025 ROV MATE World Championship.