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.


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