#sunrises
SUNRISES
As we watched the sun slowly rise this morning
gradually illuminating the mountains in the distance,
our mountain…
and the valley in between…
we began to wonder in our 73 years…how many sunrises have we seen?
How many early mornings…how many different places
how many times have we been together
to watch the sun illuminate our faces?
We’ve seen the sun rise over rivers, over lakes, oceans and seas
We’ve seen her fight her way through a thick, dense fog
to shed her light upon the trees
We’ve seen her reflect off the bison in Yellowstone,
as she helped them welcome in a new day.
We’ve seen her highlight hummingbirds…hovering at our feeder
alligators in the swamp and dolphins in the bay.
We’ve seen her change the color of a waterfall.
We’ve seen her bring out the blueness of the crow.
We’ve seen her change the color of the clouds.
We’ve seen the moment she greets the snow.
We have witnessed first-hand
the sun’s enormous generosity and power…
how she shines on everything and everyone
every human, every animal every flower…
We imagine we’ve seen quite a few sunrises…
but since neither of us have kept count
We’ll never know when it comes to sunrises
what is the exact amount…
But we do know every sunrise we see…is like a gift
given freely to every creature, every plant, every woman…every man
and we intend to do our best…to enjoy that gift each morning
and see as many sunrises we can.
