King Of The Sky

• Noni Oldfield, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2010

King of the Sky

by Noni Oldfield


It had been a lovely day, a blue sky with white, puffy clouds, the sun warming the ground which I put my bare feet on. With one step I was in the shade of the bush, and a sigh of relief escaped from my lips as the cool air washed over me. I settled against an old tree and laid my head back to rest on it’s trunk, drinking in the familiar scents of the bush and listening to the soft rustle of life around me.

From above, I heard a loud, regal call, and looking up, I realized that it was a wedge tailed eagle soaring in the sky, wheeling in circles and rising and falling with the air currents. Slowly, my eyes closed.

As the grey light of dawn approaches,
The eagle clutches the rock,
He’s leaning forward, he’s eager,
Then he launches, calling for the light,
He’s rising with the sun.

As my eyes opened, the picture of the majestic creature flying in the sky was still in my head, and the poem I had formed was still flowing gently through my mind. Coming back to my senses, I realized that it was late afternoon, almost evening. I trudged back to the house.

The sun beats on his back,
But still he keeps on soaring,
For a whole entire day he flies,
Until he can fly no more.

As the sun slowly sunk below the horizon, a brilliant array of colours accompanied it. As I sat on the paving, I watched purples, pinks, golds and blues streak across the sky, with a silence that astonished me. It was as if all of nature had become still to watch the sunset, a companionable silence.

Eventually, the light of the sun disappeared, and was replaced by the full moon. The moon had rings around it, which made the spectacle even more special, and for a few moments I basked in it’s radiant glory.

As the night claims the heavens,
The rise and fall of his magnificent chest slows,
The night is peaceful and beautiful,
The King of the Sky sleeps.