Monday, May 14, 2012

Good Morning

From our bed, I can see out of six different windows. Laying there in the predawn darkness I look at the silhouettes of Palm Trees and the Moon hanging over them. The windows are open and I listen to a lone bird sings a solo, quietly and softly. A few minutes later a choir of birds join in as the black turns to grey. I've grown to love this time and linger there. Feeling the beginning of the day, I let it come to me and try not to rush. I focus on the songs of the birds. It is prayerful and holy. Kissing Sarah on the forehead, I climb out of bed and stumble down the stairs to the outdoor shower. Warm water baptizes me and I stand there under Fran's thousand shades of green ... watching her wake too. A soft ocean breeze gently blows and it feels tropical. Stumbling back up the stairs, Goddess is watching me carefully. Winston prances around my feet. I walk to the Hibiscus plants on the Beloved Back Deck and pluck the faded blooms and count the number of new ones born on this day. Sometimes its as many as ten ... today there are three. At the end of the deck are two things that are precious to me. One is a rusted fish standing proudly , firmly rooted in on the plants. It was a gift from my sister Angi many years ago and it symbolizes many things. I've been in over my head many times ... like a fish under water ... but got through it and proudly stand now. Like it, I'm rusted but ... with a smile. At the bottom of the plant where the fish lives is stone that my friend Cheryl left. It is upright, polished and an orange brown color. The word Imagine is engraved upon it. "It's easy if you try" I always think, mentally singing the words of the major prophet John Lennon. "I hope some day you'll join us, and the world will be as one." There are no better prayers to start a day. Stumbling back inside, I find the running shorts and tee shirt and put them on. I grab Goddess a handful of treats, kick Winston out from my feet, kiss a sleeping Sarah and make my way outside again. The Bob Marley's slide on my feet and I get on the bicycle for the coast to the Breakfast Club, where the community of believers are and the elixir of life has been freshly brewed. Afterwards I roll down Tybrissa Street to wish the ocean "Good Morning". The sun hangs just above it throwing diamonds on the water. The sins of yesterday litter the beach, scavenged by Seagulls and haphazardly left behind. Eventually the Department of Public Works sleepily pick them up and throw them away ... only to be replaced by today's sins. Coasting back home, a universe of birds are singing Hallelujah choruses. The sky is a powder blue. The Moon is falling asleep as the Sun starts to play. The Trees are a lush, sub-tropical green. Runners are running ... walkers are walking ... smokers are smoking ... and people going to work sip coffee as they drive. Climbing the stairs in the muted lit house, I kiss Sarah for the third time and she mummers "Good Morning". And it is ... a very Good Morning.