Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Who Wakes with the Sun

First there were the camellias in the early morning light. They brought me to the borage. It emerged from the pavement and rested against an old dark wood fence dressed in pale green moss from another season. A still life of sorts.

As I turned away I came upon a proud postured and seemingly determined woman on what I supposed was her morning walk. She looked directly into my eyes and said good morning, with gusto and sincerity, her entire body involved with what I can best describe as some combination of a nod and a bow. It was as if she was the mayor or ambassador of the neighborhood, or perhaps the morning, and she was confident it would be a good one.

When I continued on and crossed the path of a man wearing the frown of a widemouth bass, walking his tall somber dog, I was still in possession of her nod and bow, a smile of contentment upon my face. It was then I realized her air of confidence was not without reason.

23 comments:

  1. Those early morning walks can be full of revelations -and almost otherworldly.

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  2. ...in pale green moss from another season... I've been smilingly repeating this in my head since i read it. joy.

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  3. Borage is a word that belies its beauty..I love this transmission of goodness. As a believer in greeting passers-by I'm happy to read this, though I can only aspire to the posture and confidence of your magnificent woman.

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    1. I agree, Kate, borage does not roll off the tongue in a very enticing way. I too can only aspire. She was one of a kind.

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  4. Revelations found on early morning walks, they feel at times so otherworldly.

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    1. Early morning is the most likely time to feel otherworldly, especially before sunrise.

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    2. Much agreed, this is preached by the yogis of the Indian tradition, the time to rise is 2-3 hours before the sun, known as "Brahm-murata", when spiritual vibrations are at the peak. Currently it's 5 AM so I think I'm on schedule...though I don't know if yogis would have approved of the nap I took till 12 AM which is the reason I'm still awake...

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    3. Very interesting. It is easy to believe those early hours hold and abundance of spiritual vibrations.

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  5. I love your description of the woman, Denise, and how this "ambassador of the morning" bequeathed to you her nod and bow. Your walk makes me want to take one of my own and see what I discover and what I might come home with.

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    1. Thanks, Rachael. I hope I'll be able to read what you discover and carry home.

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  6. I love walking a mile in your shoes!

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  7. The woman reminds me of a lovely little engraving I have of a woman greeting a bird on a post, titled in pencil at the bottom "Good Morning, Mrs. [something]." And I rather like the image of the man with his bass-like frown. I can so picture that! What fun, to observe this little study in contrasts on your walk.

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    1. Greeting a bird on a post, love it. It was such a sad fish frown. Poor guy...

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  8. Your descriptions are so splendid. Observing is powerful.

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    1. Thank you, Alexandria. I've always enjoyed observing. You are quite the observer and I am happy you have chosen to follow this path.

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  9. I do very much enjoy your observations of life... Interestingly I pictured the woman as an older woman - say in her 70s, but looking back over your words you've not mentioned her age. Perhaps it was her proud, determination, the confidence of her good morning that made me think this...? I wonder. I did like her immediately as she is a 'greeter' when out walking. And as for the poor chap with the frown, I do hope his day improved.

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    1. Hi, Annie. This is one of the reasons I like working with words. Whoever reads them creates their own visual. If you saw a woman in her 70s, then she was in her 70s. Confidence does seem to increase with age. It's nice to see the ways age can make us better.

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  10. i love, love this description: First there were the camellias in the early morning light. They brought me to the borage. It emerged from the pavement and rested against an old dark wood fence dressed in pale green moss from another season.

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  11. Thank you for adding poetry to my morning.

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    1. My pleasure. And thank you, Lecia. You so often add poetry to my day.

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