Before Dawn

Before dawn breaks open
00000294the new day, and tinges
of light are barely seeping
through the night’s cover,
birds awaken, wide-eyed, not
yet ready for flight, but eager
to welcome rosy streaks of sky,
to dance across dewy blades
in search of tidbits 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 tasseled corn
after lying fallow under winter’s
hoary stiff and frozen earth.




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