So beautiful….I’m usually up before the birds & so love the sound of the first chirps in the early morning silence ….luckily there are many trees in our neighborhood. My morning bliss. Grateful.
I hear their song as I am typing this by our back yard door :))
There’s a first chipper I hear while still in bed , in the front of our home, from the Japanese Maple on our lawn….it’s a quiet chirp…very early in the morn
While downstairs, a little later, making our breakfast in the kitchen at the back of our home I usually hear a much bolder bird sounding what feels like a “wake-up call” to other birds :))
Beautiful new poem, Phyllis. I love listening to the birds in the woods on my morning walk as the sun is rising. You captured this moment so well. Thank you!
My feathered companions cheer me every morning! The reminder to sing the sun into existence and just the joy of them and their song. Thank you for sharing your poem and letting us share in the glory of it!
I too have been awake just before dawn. Awake in the dark while camping I noted the first bird - not sure what it was - offers a solo chirp about 3:15-3:30 a.m. -- others follow. I’m always curious how just one bird starts it, waking them all up. Your lines are very poetic, something good to come out of a poor night’s sleep.
Oh my goodness, I LOVE every bit of this, love the idea of birdsong “hoisting the sun.” I am often entertained or annoyed by the bachelor mockingbirds singing through the night (give it up, dude…she’s sleeping). Mmm, but those early chirpers are so dear. And I am enchanted with the final lines:
“to breathe the cold night into themselves
and give it back to the world as song, as light”
Ha! Just now a cardinal began adding its exclamation points! She agrees with me!
So beautiful….I’m usually up before the birds & so love the sound of the first chirps in the early morning silence ….luckily there are many trees in our neighborhood. My morning bliss. Grateful.
I hear their song as I am typing this by our back yard door :))
Have you every noticed who the first chirper in your neighborhood tends to be?
There’s a first chipper I hear while still in bed , in the front of our home, from the Japanese Maple on our lawn….it’s a quiet chirp…very early in the morn
While downstairs, a little later, making our breakfast in the kitchen at the back of our home I usually hear a much bolder bird sounding what feels like a “wake-up call” to other birds :))
I can hear these two chirpers from your description!
Be still my heart
😘
Beautiful new poem, Phyllis. I love listening to the birds in the woods on my morning walk as the sun is rising. You captured this moment so well. Thank you!
Thanks, Marianne! Lovely to think of you walking in the woods at sunrise!
Love and appreciate this ode to the birds (as a fellow poor sleeper who’s up in the mid-night hours and most times misses this predawn chorus.)
Especially struck by this line:
to put the last inch of dark to good use
Wow!
I have a special fondness for that line, too, for which I take no credit. It flew onto the page. Thanks, Dianne!
Beautiful!
Thank you, Shelly!
My feathered companions cheer me every morning! The reminder to sing the sun into existence and just the joy of them and their song. Thank you for sharing your poem and letting us share in the glory of it!
You're very welcome, Katharina—such a privilege to have a community to share with! Like a bird singing with other birds!
Exactly how I feel!
I too have been awake just before dawn. Awake in the dark while camping I noted the first bird - not sure what it was - offers a solo chirp about 3:15-3:30 a.m. -- others follow. I’m always curious how just one bird starts it, waking them all up. Your lines are very poetic, something good to come out of a poor night’s sleep.
I continue to be fascinated by the solo chirpers.
And , this line is so good: “when night weighs heaviest
on the neck of the world,” (wow!)
Thank you!
Oh my goodness, I LOVE every bit of this, love the idea of birdsong “hoisting the sun.” I am often entertained or annoyed by the bachelor mockingbirds singing through the night (give it up, dude…she’s sleeping). Mmm, but those early chirpers are so dear. And I am enchanted with the final lines:
“to breathe the cold night into themselves
and give it back to the world as song, as light”
Ha! Just now a cardinal began adding its exclamation points! She agrees with me!
I love your response to this poem, Julie—not because you "love" the poem but because you engage with it from the immediacy of your own "yard."