Sitting in the backyard before the sunrise. Drinking a cup of coffee. The light changed and I looked up. I heard a solitary bird singing. And light grew brighter.

Palms dance in the Santa Ana wind. High up in the sky a flock flew south. A plane higher still flew along the same path. A seagull passed low heading west to the bay. And then again the light changed.

Slowly, minute by minute, critters began to stir. A first bird song. A hummingbird landed on a wire. In the neighbor’s tree a squirrel rustles past the leaves. Wind whipped up on the highway caused a drone. A siren wails in the distance.

And the sky grew brighter, still. Dawn. This dawn. This day, this morning happens only once. I look around and breathe it all in. Stand up, go in our home and whisper to my dear. Our day has begun.