Is there a more perfect time of day than this? The world is hushed, children still asleep. Clock ticks quietly, reminding me of the passing of days, slowed for a moment, but soon to resume the race from week to week, year to year.Watching for the sunrise. A thought, captured in the darkness, one crystalline piece of mind. Scooped up in the hand, placed in a jar, covered and put away for viewing at some later date.
We know from experience that date will never come. Life will once again breathe down our necks, insisting we complete one task or another before we collapse, exhausted, into another night.
But for this moment, for this solitary golden slice of time gleaming in the darkness in my kitchen while the others sleep on, sweetly unaware that I have stolen time itself right out from under their noses, life stands still.
Thought takes shape, expands, becomes grandeur and is painted onto the screen before my eyes. No more elusive wisps of philosophy, scattering at my attempted grasp. Instead, the hero’s satisfaction at the capture of an old friend, a memory, a long-forgotten catharsis.
But now the sun is rising. Time to put away this moment, tuck it into a drawer in the hopes there will be another chance to view it, another instant of stillness….
…before this life is over.
You've accurately described the feeling of sitting in the darkness in the early morning hours, thoughts and ideas swirling about. I always feel guilty because I do feel as though I'm stealing time away from my son or husband. I like the imagery of a jar holding a glimmer of an idea ; ).
ReplyDeleteThough it's night in my part of the world, I know exactly what you mean. I like the idea of stealing time just before sunrise and embracing the stillness before it ends. Lovely post. Thanks Donna. - Karen
ReplyDeleteBest time of the day, in my opinion
ReplyDeleteI, too, love this time-- where the day has awakened but has not thrown off the bed covers yet and is waiting for a few more minutes before it gets up and gets back to business. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, guys. It was a real moment this morning, here in the north country (our house above) as I waited in the stillness for my thoughts to rise...
ReplyDeleteI love the before sunrise moment. I leave DH snoring and slip downstairs. The front porch comes alive with sunshine and I write, oh bliss.
ReplyDeleteYou expressed your morning moment so beautifully Donna, thanks for sharing.
Beautiful post. This is a magical time of day and I love your imagery of scooping it up and saving it.
ReplyDeleteDonna, you couldn't have captured that moment more beautifully. The richness of it and then the bittersweet tucking it away. I want to go back to bed right now, so I can wake to another sunrise.
ReplyDeleteThose are moments we need to cherish and remember when things go awry, as they sometimes do, throughout the day.
Thank you for this lovely post.
Isn't it great that there's that time of day everyday.
ReplyDeleteI love catching dawn's rays, but I also love midnight, too. Starlight in darkness makes me ponder.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful imagery! Thanks for the pick me up.
Thanks for dropping in, folks. It was a pleasure to bottle up that moment and share it. Now, at 4 in the afternoon, the feeling lingers. It's just one of those lovely vacation days...
ReplyDeleteLoved this, Donna. I could almost hear the quiet in my own ears. It can feel as if time has stopped when alone with no voices to distract.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts, Donna.
Thank you for your kind comment. I'm glad you found it, Dawn.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many good parts in this, stealing time from those sleeping is just what a writer does. We also do it when we write beautiful pieces like these. Well done, Donna.
ReplyDeleteThis post was poetic and accurate. I love the early morning hours.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carrie and Medeia Sharif! I'm so glad you liked this one. I plan to try to recapture this moment whenever I need a break from the avalanche we call life! ha ha
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