Feeding Delilah on a Cold Day

6:30 is way too early, out-
side is way too cold
I drag myself out of bed
and pull cold clothes on
and walk out the door
into the North Pole.
The garage is only a few yards away
but it feels like eternity, for the cold
seeps under my carhardts and through my pants and
sleeps on my skin.
I carry the hay and grain in my arms
and dump it in her
stall.
The water, or really an ice block,
is a thorn in my side.
It is almost frozen solid,
except for 1/2 an inch of water
on the bottom.
I fight the ice,
and then I am finally warm,
and the morning seems actually nice.
I tip the ice out of the bowl,
and the morning seems marvelous.
I carry buckets of water
and watch as the,
for I cannot feel, water
droplets splash up onto my hair, where they
sparkle, if
only for now, like diamonds
glistening in the sun.

By Olivia, grade 8