PROMPT: Sunrise is the Best Time

Sunrise is the best time for greeting the day

although I rarely see it—

I like to sleep in, comfy cozy in my bed

snuggled up against my husband

moving slowly up through thick dreams to find the surface

not wanting to rush, not wanting to wake

simply content to be in this place of peace and stillness

We are sunset people:

Happy to watch the day receding

The sun sinking down across the horizon

painting pinks and purples one night

and oranges and reds another

sometimes spectacular

sometimes muted

always different

It’s best to watch the sun across water

—sunrise or sunset—

something spectacular sparkling,

reminding us of the divine…

or a least of a universe that loves us

Hard to imagine the pain and suffering that half the world endures

unable, perhaps, to see the beauty and comfort that nature offers

so bound are they by humanity’s cruelty—

power struggles ensnaring the innocent (if any of us can truly be called innocent)

harshness trumping kindness

greed trumping generosity

hate trumping love

Sunrise is the best time for hope:

a new day, new possibilities

a chance for something different

But what if that sunrise is blocked by chaos and bombing

hunger and fear

too much heat or too much cold

dead children and missing spouses

not enough water…or maybe too much

where does the hope come from then

how can it be cultivated in such circumstances

The human heart has that capacity

if only we are brave enough to free it from its wounds

The sun rises on the just and unjust alike—

no judgment, no partiality, no favoritism,

simply making its presence known as we 

spin around and around and around

harming ourselves and each other

oblivious to its lesson

Sunrise is the best time for opening our eyes