daybreak comes early
yet still the moon shines
waning from its strawberry fullness,
(smiling, humming)
greeting me as I pick up the newspaper from the sidewalk,
the heat is already simmering there
but not yet at full boil–
June, almost summer–
a spider has spun a web
sparkling in the streaming sunlight,
birds sing from their green-leafed perches
the cats watch from windows,
then turn to say hello to me
before going back to guard duty,
(we all have our jobs)
even as summer sighs,
slow down
and so, I do,
and watch the birds, too.