Lake Skating

I grab the shovel
with my left hand.
I raise it like a
Samurai and his
katana.

Then I lower it,
exhausted by battle.
The broad metallic
end lies flat
against the cold
icy surface of
the lake.

The snow
gives way under
the weight of the
shovel.

Now
all that holds
the shovel and water
is ice.

I push with
my right leg.
Effortlessly
I soar along
ice on metal blades,
that are not
ice skates
but life.

Snow gathers
on the shovel.

I am nature's
Zamboni.

---

Zach Eddy, age 13
2008 Finalist
Missoula, Montana
Sussex School
Teacher: Jennifer Ellis