6:30 to 7 AM

Today I was up early enough to learn
that here in the valley,
though the sun still rises in the east,
it pours in from the north,
trees along the western edge
lighting up, starting from the top,
striated rays sifting  between  branches,
the line of light touching the valley floor
before the sun crests the eastern hill

I watched the sunlight kiss the crown
of the oak tree, watched as the distant pines
received their light in turn,
like an anointing,
watched the hill’s shadow recede,
slowly, then suddenly,
as the sun claimed its reign
and brought the day.

©Wendy Mulhern
July 20, 2021

No shadow of turning

The eternal dawn
doesn’t wait on time,
doesn’t need the earth’s rolling
or the stars aligning
or the tumblirs of human machinations
to click into place

The eternal dawn first gleams,
then floods, its color
lighting up your hopes, its warmth
dispersing all your huddled fears

It doesn’t wait on time,
it waits for you – patiently,
timelessly, here at this moment
when you feel its tender rays.

©Wendy Mulhern
April 27, 2021

A Grand Dawn

I was jumping up and down
trying to tell everyone,
Look what I’ve learned!
Look at the truth that changes everything!
I was thinking the most important thing
in my whole life
was finding a way to let people know

And then I realized
the same discovery must dawn
in everyone. In each of them
it must be as precious, as profound,
as earth moving, as it is for me.
No one needs a second hand dawn –
Each one gets their own

And how rich it is to see
this treasure, latent or in full bloom,
hidden or celebrated,
in every person. On the street,
in the grocery store, at their work,
each one promised and given
the holy vision
that means so much,
that means everything.

©Wendy Mulhern
May 6, 2020

Waiting

I wait for inspiration
as cedar boughs wait for dawn,
foreshadowed in a subtle definition,
a whispered dark emerging
from the darkness,
imperceptibly gaining clarity
until they stand in silent, muted green

And then suddenly
dawn blazes through,
lights them up with gold
suffuses them
with incandescent glory

I wait, for
sure as dawn,
it will come.

©Wendy Mulhern
July 30, 2014