Early morning there is a scheduled pause
Save for the crickets and a freight train
Cars don’t break the streetlights’ beams
Waterfowl in the marshes are motionless
Dreaming of their magic predawn routine
Flapping wings and cacophonous songs
Darkening these skies with bursts of flight
Subliminally reminding folks deep asleep
This nearly silent interval is a treasured time
