20160605 (quiet)

Sunrise from atop Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine

The world is lovely and quiet

This morning except for the 

Exquisite chirping of a bird

(Who ceases just as I begin

His praises). And true to form,

As I set out to tell of a peaceful

Sunday morning, there softly

Begins in the distance a siren

Wail—police car probably—

EMS is strangely much more

Insistent. It might be calm like

This in Chelsea where my daughter

Emily lives with her lawyer

Husband Ben. When I visit I’m

Frequently struck by the odd

Quiet of mornings in Manhattan

On the side streets when the

(Can one call it silence?) is 

Broken by the noise of a single

Car on West 22nd. City sounds.

Even in Olympia where my 

Firstborn, Andrew lives, when 

I accompany him on his early

Saturday rounds, the countryside

Is so quiet you can hear the 

Not-so-far off buzz of I-5. The 

Parking lot of the hospital is

Likewise subdued, closing the car

Door seemed unusually loud.

My younger son Nat wanted to

Show me sunrise over San 

Francisco, so we drove to the 

Summit of Twin Peaks (actually

To the summit of just the one

Where he lives) and joined 

With tourists and others as if

In some top-of-the-mountain

Chapel to witness the light

Breaking over the ridge of the

Mountains to the east across

The bay. It reminded me of

Watching sunrise over the 

Atlantic from the peak of

Cadillac mountain in Acadia

National Park with my beloved

Jean seventeen years ago. The

Crowd there too was solemn.

Were we like pagans atop a 

Pyramid watching a god rise to 

Reassure us light, warmth, and

Growth would recur reliably,

That we were not condemned 

Forever to be in cold shadow?

Or like the women disciples

Going to the Easter tomb only

To discover the work for which

They prepared wasn’t needed?

The bells of St. Patrick’s on 

Bridge rang just as I was

Writing about Christian witness—

Too early, I checked. Either my

Clock is off (it’s not, computer

Reads the same) or was it some 

Kind of sign for me (around 

Whom the world revolves)?

Blame me for being the center

Of the universe? The view is

Inescapable—everyone

Shares it--unless you’re

Given to constant out-of-the-

Body experiences there’s no

Way to avoid it. The bird has 

Resumed chirping. It was a 

Very light drizzle on the Loki

Walk this morning (Sophia

Tagged along, sweet kitty).

Except for the lousy blood

Sugar reading it's hard not 

To feel blessed right now.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016