This week the Sunday Night Swaggers are drafting to a challenge from Linda Mitchell, an aubade, which is a praise song to the morning. I read on Sharing our Stories a prompt for capturing sounds in your writing. To me sounds and aubade seemed to go together.
Sounds of the Morning
Is there a sound that wakes the morning?
An alarm of the softest hum,
shrill tweet of a passing bird,
a gurgle from the coffee pot?Will you wake from your garden
And look for me?Will I kneel down in prayer
Or throw my head back and laugh?Oh morning, your welcoming glaze
bathes kindness over the day.I could bask in your freshness
And forget hatred.Stay awhile, sunrise!
Margaret Simon, draft
To read other Aubade poems:
Linda Mitchell
Heidi Mordhorst
Molly Hogan
Catherine Flynn
Reflections on the Teche 
[…] Mordhorst @ My Juicy Little UniverseLinda Mitchell @ A Word EdgewiseMargaret Simon @ Reflections on the TecheMolly Hogan @ Nix the Comfort […]
Oh Margaret, what joy your poem is and brings to the reader! Such a powerful praise song and tribute to morning! You need to publish this. I love how you start with sounds and personalize it with your positive questions. Then your image of you talking to the sunrise in the lines “Oh morning, your welcoming glaze bathes kindness over the day. I could bask in your freshness and forget hatred.” makes me see you as an angel. Your POV is very effective here. Perfect surprise ending. I love your poem! I look forward to reading again tomorrow.
As I read this, it’s about time for me to go to sleep, but your poem makes me long for the morning–to bathe in its kindness and bask in the freshness. Thanks for sharing your aubade and giving me pause to think about the sounds of morning.
[…] If you’d like to check out what the other Swaggers did with this Aubade challenge, click on the links:Heidi (My Juicy Little Universe)Linda (A Word Edgewise)Catherine (Reading to the Core)Margaret (Reflections on the Teche) […]
Such a gorgeous flirt with the morning. “Will you wake from your garden
And look for me?” Of course, Morning will look for you…how could it not after such an invitation. You sound in love with Morning in this poem. The voice of it is wonderful.
I love this feeling of morning looking for the “me” in this poem… morning as friend, comfort, inspiration… beautiful!
So lovely! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
That welcoming glaze is so lovely!
“Stay awhile, sunrise!” Love these words. I’m back to watching the sunrise as I drive to watch the grand boys. I love the freshness of morning and that feeling of all is right with the world.
Beautiful morning praise song, Margaret. I imagine it could be set to music!
Remember Cat Steven’s “Morning Has Broken”? Your poem reminded me of it.
Morning Has Broken is actually in our church hymnal, so I know it well. Perhaps subconsciously I was thinking about it.
I felt like I could hear a tune in my head – so beautiful
Each day I will remember to ask morning to look for me, to bathe in its beauty. Thank you, Margaret, for this beautiful poem and now that Linda B mentioned it, I can see Cat Steven’s song in your poem. It brings me back to my wedding day.
Love these lines:
Oh morning, your welcoming glaze
bathes kindness over the day.
“Oh morning, your welcoming glaze
bathes kindness over the day.”
I could see this so clearly, and feel it. So very beautiful!
Such a celebration of the day – beautiful in every way. That moss-draped live oak is a poem in itself – I should like to spend many hours and days under it, writing and savoring.
As I read your lovely poem, “the shrill tweet” of a bird pierced the stillness, letting the world know the sun, with its “welcoming glaze,” is on the way.
I love early morning best of all. I, too, bask in its freshness.
“Oh morning, your welcoming glaze
bathes kindness over the day.” – this is a magical morning greeting, a way to start a day. Your poem is beautiful.
This is such a beautiful poem, Margaret, almost a balm. I, too, love this line: “Will you wake from your garden
And look for me?”
Mornings fill me with optimism.
Yes, “Stay awhile, sunrise!” and keep on bathing that “kindness over the day.”
Thanks for this lovely song-poem Margaret!
BTW, your tree is gorgeous, any chance I can share it with my students for them to paint?
Sure! This is the grandmother oak. She is over 250 years old. We have an oil painting of her from a friend. I’d love to see what your students do.
Just beautiful! We are kindred spirits – only I live in New Jersey. I glad to know about the Teche and Aubades. Deeply grateful.
what a wonderful way to start the day …. bathed in kindness!