Ended Reign

• Kirsten Hicks, Grade 7, Tullawong State High School
• Poetry
• 2018

3rd in the 'Write Along 2018' competition

With ruffled feathers he soars into the sky,
Trying his best to battle the mighty gale up high.
No longer featured in poems and films as a majestic beast,
His aesthetic power gone, his majesty ceased.
He shudders in the wind, bids goodbye to his pride,
And he tries to stay upright as he takes a last, long glide.
His days as an awesome bird of prey long gone,
Now reduced to nothing more than a creature flying into the dawn.
He tries to stay headstrong in the wind the way he did in his youth,
As his feathers and bones continue trying to deny the truth -
That he won’t last much longer, so now he tries to enjoy what remains
Of his life, of his land, of his flight, of his reign.
An earthward current tugs him down as his feathers finally protest,
His bones howl for mercy as the wind lays him to rest.
He doesn’t feel bitter towards the breeze, or beg to stay alive,
He instead accepts his end peacefully with one final, smooth dive.