One typical morning while getting ready for work, I was surprised to discover a poem hastily scrawled in my then twelve year old daughter's hand, with the notation above it, "Mom, you are my reason for waking early" on my bathroom vanity.
Why I Wake Early
Hello, sun in my face.
Hello, you who make the morning
and spread it over the fields
and into the faces of the tulips
and the nodding morning glories,
and into the windows of, even, the miserable and the crotchety--
best preacher that ever was,
dear star, that just happens
to be where you are in the universe
to keep us from ever-darkness,
to ease us with warm touching,
to hold us in the great hands of light--
good morning, good morning, good morning.
Watch, now, how I start the day
in happiness, in kindness
-Mary Oliver
Faithfully I read these magical words each and every day...smiling and remembering why I wake early.
