The dawn is a friend to me,
a time of chattering birds
and solitary yearning.
These days I don’t walk too well
and don’t sleep too well either –
but in the early morning
I still take the dog out past the field
where the horses roam free;
I still look and am still struck
by the beauty that is here
all around me;
I still look for Brother Lawrence’s tree.*
Don’t look so hard, says my heart,
for what cannot be.
Don’t look so hard – be glad that God looks with thee.
*[Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God]