Before Dawn

Before dawn breaks open

the new day, and tinges

of light are barely seeping

through the night cover,

birds awaken, wide-eyed, not

yet ready for flight, but eager

to welcome rosy streaks,

to prance across dewy blades

in search of crumbs to feed on.

Brackish and discordant notes

fill the air as they begin

their day of gliding from tree

to tree, alert for predators

as breezes fluff their feathers

and sunbeams filter through

swaying branches.

Bird songs alert the world

to see afresh the same old fields

of weeds and stubble, ready

to be plowed and planted,

ready to burgeon with fresh-sown

wheat and greening cornstalks

after lying fallow under winter’s

hoary frost and frozen earth.