What the Sun Sees

As I rise, The moon falls The wind settles The lake follows The sand shimmers The earth softens The stars dampen and The buildings brighten, A tree houses A bird swooshes A flower opens A fish swims A weed dances A squirrel eats and A duck dips, A man hurries to work A woman runs on the boardwalk A grandfather grabs the paper A boy hides from me A girl giggles on the swings A bell ushers kids away and\ A bike lane grows heavy, This place, So full with life Racks the minutes, hours, days, years, Peacefully, quietly, beautifully-- Existing with incredible happenings; Splendors and revelations, Dark funerals and ‘happy birthdays’, Joyous jubilations and lonely mornings, Yellow hellos and red goodbyes, Tired people and busy minds. Perpetual, like that grandfather clock in the apartment with the too-thin walls; As unchanging as the oak tree outside of the tiny bungalow on the corner street by the beach. And as I set and rise everyday to do the same 24-hour shift, I do not complain about the similar views, or the boring minutes, I do not crave the hours in darkness, I accept the unthanked labor— I watch. I listen. I exist.