At Dawn

Relief at Dawn

All night stalkers sleep now…

a cardinal sings relief…delight.

Sun spills rose lights

through the trees east of our house.

A honeybee seeks sweetness

of white blossoms on our plum tree.

I see a turquoise robin’s egg

on the ground spilling out its life.

A fox sleeps curled

in her den on the side of a hill.

Silent owls in treetops wink

one eye then

rest until dusk.

Discreet whitetail deer nestle

in beds of grass.

Earth rolls around the sun.

Another day begun.

 

--Barbara Spring

 

Excerpted from my book, Sophia's Lost and Found: Poems of Above and Below

Available at Amazon.com as well as many independent bookstores

Wood Duckling

Here is my charcoal drawing of a young wood duck.  These brave little fledglings jump from their nests in hollow trees.  From there they find water and if they survive, they mature into very beautiful ducks with colorful feathers.

We see them sometimes in the marshes near Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes.  They begin to hatch this time of year.