With first light
the soul of the earth rises,
reaching through evergreen
and shy herds of deer,
silver cords of river fish
and human hearts
no longer sleeping.
The dome of the night sky
recedes to the west, leaving
the earth altar silent.
Quietly we come,
something like praise
a lilt in our voices,
gathering the stones
of what we’ve forgotten
in a cairn of remembrance
to mark the day
we chose to awake.