As the Sun Rises

 As the Sun Rises

The maple out back shivers and quivers in the northerly breeze.

It’s only mid-August, but the chill wind reminds of what is to come. 

Rising sunlight flickers through the lively branches.

A tiny rabbit bolts across the grass, perhaps spooked by all the movement of leaves.

He enters his safe space under our deck.

Others, older and bolder, graze the grass, ears still alert for danger.

The recent rains have washed away the dry month of drought.

All is green again, the greenest it’s been all summer.

Tiny rabbit reappears; his hunger for clover beats his fears.

Rays from the heavens now stream through more openings in the green.

My eyes light on seeming faces in the green wall…

One a huge face with openings in the leaves for smiling eyes, nose, and mouth;

And another, a giant frog with bulging eyes and a mouth that opens and closes in the wind.

You can almost hear him croak.