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early morning

12 November 2012



Enormous morning, ponderous, meticulous;
gray light streaking each bare branch,
each single twig, along one side,
making another tree, of glassy veins...
The bird still sits there. Now he seems to yawn.
excerpt from ELIZABETH BISHOP, "Five Flights Up

my mornings lately have been early. too early, perhaps. but i am learning how to appreciate what often seems like an ungodly hour; the quiet, the still, the haunting, the earthly. i am trading in my night owl for the early bird.

6 comments:

  1. I just loooove sunrises but unfortunately, unless I absolutely have to be up for something, I miss them :( I'm more of a night owl too and love sunsets but there is something so still and quiet and peaceful about the morning.

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    1. i totally know what you mean. left to my own devices, i will almost never get up so early unless i absolutely have to. but my husband works in forestry and he's finally working from home again (he was working out of a bush camp for most of the summer and was only home on weekends), which means that the alarm clock has been going off well before five o'clock. for the rest of the week, it will be slightly later, which is less painful. but there is something so magical about getting up with him and enjoying a coffee together, or simply each other's company in the still. it is even more magical in the spring when all the birds come out and sing their songs. getting up early is a constant fight against my nature, but one that i oddly enjoy :)

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  2. I used to help out at a bakery as an undergraduate student for extra money, and of course, I had to wake up at an ungodly hour. As much as I hated it in the first few minutes in the morning where I had to convince myself to get out of bed, staring out the window on such early hours was a special experience - it feels like the noisy world is quiet for once. Such a beautiful excerpt too!

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    1. thank you, Hila!

      the early morning is a rather special experience. so too are the rhythms of the night. i love that i can enjoy them both in different (although similar) ways, but unfortunately they are also incompatible (i can't stay up late AND get up early and maintain a clear state of mind), which i think has always been part of the struggle for me as a longtime night owl. i have been relishing the solitude of night for so long, it is refreshing to exchange it for the quietude of early morning.

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  3. What a beautiful post. I commute part of the week and catch the first (5.40 am) train of the day. My walk to the station is evocative, eerie and rather magical. Night creatures, quiet stillness and a crisp frost at this time of year, set the tone for the day. Watching the sun gently rise at the train whizzes through the English countryside is such a powerful experience - unique, every time.

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    1. thank you. your early morning commute sounds especially magical; there really is something powerful about everything you describe. i find it to be such a solitary experience, and yet one that we can so wonderfully share. thank you for sharing.

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