exquisite,
the slice of dawn before daybreak,
when – groggy, blurred – the world
spins into existence, a split second of
confusion…then comfort,
then touch, then bodily warmth,
then quiet sleepy whispers,

the first smile of day, the stretch, the
initiative (then “just another minute”,
and a weighted slump into blissful quiet),
the diaphragm waking up into a squeal of
resolve.