The Collector

• Sayaka Shima, Grade 10, North Sydney Girls High School
• Poetry
• 2022

Finalist in the 'Unleashed 2022' competition

Lounging in jewels of the afternoon sun
She brushes her elegant monochrome coat
I sit in the bare bush, mesmerised by the rich décor of the collector’s abode
Spreading her wings to the open sky
She soars like a glider, piercing eyes sweeping barren wasteland
Searching for trinkets
That would satisfy her
A plastic bead in her beak
Glowing and radiant against the snowy white
Soaring again through golden clouds back to her plastic home,
Glorious in the light
She strokes her new prize with unending affection
I wrap my wings around me to leave
Away from the collector’s nest
To my own collection