Thursday, July 19, 2007

Early Morning

I love to wake and walk outside in the cool of early morning in the summer. The sounds of the traffic are still low, and the neighborhood is mostly hushed, or silent. In the high, brightening summer sky the sounds of the small city dwelling birds are sharp as little knives. Inside the silent house my wife and child curl in the night-tangle of sheets and blankets, skins soft and warm, faces blank with the emptiness of sleep.
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I love the dust-sharp smell of the morning street, the oily hint of asphalt, the prairie-husk of dried grass. Breathe deep and the faint dampness, tiniest hint of warm humidity, fills my lungs with the promise of a hot day.
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I love the steam rising from a new cup of hot coffee, dark richness of grounds and frothy sweetness of cream warming my hands.
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I love watching the gray haziness of the pre-dawn sharpen, shadows forming like bad habits under limbs and behind porches as the light deepens so that in the old way of defining day from night you can tell a white thread from a black.
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I love to just sit quietly under the vault of the Heavens and watch the next day begin.
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Where the Telemetries End
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Brian Turner
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Such is life:
We make love and the dry sheets
crackle in blue sparks. Water
slides vein by vein
over the face of stone.
We share a long night
of breathing. And when the dead
speak to us, we must ask them
to wait, to be patient,
for the night is still ours
on the rooftops of the Al Ma'badi,
with a tracery of lights
falling all around us.

2 comments:

Kelli said...

I agree, Morning is the most magical time of the day. I don't think any other time of day can measure up- it's the beginning, before everything is up. when you are in China, try to get up super early at least one morning & go for a long walk. You will be amazed at the difference between a 5 am walk in China, and a 4 pm walk...China is beautiful, but in the early morning, it also feels magical.

walternatives said...

Lovely post, Chief, and the same for the photo. Unfortunately, I miss the mornings, as the Goob and I stay up and wake up late. Better enjoy that aspect while we can - we'll be greeting the day earlier once the children come home.