Broken

I stand on a pile of broken cypress
Winter’s hand still grabbing my breath

The exhale lingers, frozen above my head
A memorial, reminding me of what it’s like to be out here

In the distance is an oxbow
Surrounded by thousands of nature’s sentinels

The sound of wings on top of a coming darkness
Breaks my comfort-induced abstraction

To the right, the wind’s trickery
Chases the water out of the lake

To the left, an eagle breaks its circle
Folding itself into the brown waves

The water shudders with a massive weight lifted
The pelicans make it off the water and deep into the stars of
Zydeco country

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Billy Creed, age 17 (2005 finalist)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Louisiana State University Lab School
Teacher: Connie McDonald (2006 ROW Teacher of the Year)