The Trees to the East
Jim Tilley

The day stolen from us, that’s how it feels,
sitting here at my desk at 5 am and not
seeing the glow of dawn beyond the trees
to the east as I did a few months ago.
Do I keep at it or return to bed?
Not really a question back then. Going back
to lie down and try to sleep too often
wins out these days as the world increasingly
is stolen from us, and unlike so many
other things where the metaphor sadly
rings true, for this one, we can hardly wait,
those of us in the northern hemisphere anyway,
for the winter solstice and the ultimate
arrival of spring. New leaves on those trees.