Oh misty morning
Calm and serene
Not a ripple
Water is glass
Flag hangs limp
Covered in dew
No salute today
Sunrise no-show
Hidden behind cloud
Clinging to ground
Bleeding moisture
Everywhere hosed
Wet vegetation
Dripping cars
Damp streets
Soggy sidewalks
Clammy joggers
Moist clothing
Humid air
Muggy morning
Watery weekend
Dewy days
Dank dawn
Oh misty morning
So peaceful
So quiet
So soaking
I do love mornings
Start of a new day
Yesterday’s troubles left behind
A chance to start afresh
Plan the day
Set bold objectives
Share exciting ideas over breakfast
The possibilities are endless
Have another cup of tea
Extra toast with marmalade
Breakfast goes too long
But there is lots of day left
Waste time with a long shower
Can’t decide what to wear
Pull clothes out of the laundry pile
Make another cup of tea
Check emails on the computer
Waste more time on FaceBook
Click on stupid links
My tea went cold
Too early for lunch
Cake is a good mid-morning snack
I can start the diet tomorrow
Eat more cake
Thinking of taking a walk
But it’s raining
Maybe somebody had emailed me
Waste more time browsing
Almost lunchtime now
Leftovers look good
Must eat them to prevent a science experiment
Look out the window for ages
Morning is over
Cross more things off today’s list
Check my emails again
Take a long nap
Mid-afternoon tea time
Eat a whole packet of cookies
Feeling sick
Check emails then lay down
Thinking about dinner
Nothing exciting in the fridge
Check my emails again
Order a pizza
Cross more things off the list
Check FaceBook again
Nothing exciting happening
Pizza guy rings the doorbell
I promised myself to only eat half
Then I ate another slice
Crossing more things off the list
Eat the last slice while checking emails
Getting dark outside
Reschedule walking for tomorrow
Turn the TV on
Waste three hours watching mindless shows
Time for bed soon
Too tired to brush my teeth
Check my emails in bed
Fall asleep holding the phone
Wake up at 3am
Nothing exciting on Facebook
Nobody emailed me
Tearing up yesterday’s list
They ate breakfast together in silence
He was engrossed in his morning paper
She was checking her FaceBook page
Back when they were first married
They used to talk for hours on end
Hanging on to every word said
Making each other laugh
But that had long since stopped
He reached over to pick up his cup
Avoiding asking her to pass it to him
She glanced at his outstretched arm
Resisting the temptation to speak
Why bother telling him he should have asked her
She lowered her glance to avoid eye contact
They had stopped looking at each other too
She went upstairs to get dressed
He had left for work when she came back down
Her phone buzzed with a text
I will be working late
Will not need dinner
No smiling faces or kisses in the text
He never made it to the office
Suffering a massive heart attack while driving
There was no suspicion of foul play
She washed the breakfast dishes three times over
Nobody knew she had a lover
They never communicated via phone or the internet
Leaving no digital fingerprints to trace
They met once a week on the same park bench
Making love in his RV to avoid hotel records
They always paid cash at bars and restaurants
At their next meeting she thanked him
Those pills you gave me worked perfectly
I put them in his tea like you said
Best wait a while before we live together he said
She collected the huge life insurance payout
A year later she was making breakfast
While chatting intensely to her lover
Can you please pass my tea he asked
She smiled as she passed the cup
I woke up early on this Sunday morning
It is almost the end of May
Clear blue skies over the English countryside
The sun is rising over the Downs
Casting long shadows over the English garden patio
The vegetable garden is basking in the warm English sunshine
Growing season is upon us
You can almost see the leaves expanding
Birds line up at the bird feeders
Grateful for their free English breakfast
Birdsongs fill the air
Doves are gently cooing
Others chirping and tweeting
While most folks are still sleeping
Tall hedgerows border the very English manicured lawns
Providing a welcome home for English wildlife
Flowering plants and shrubs abound
The quintessential English country garden
Painted around a beautiful English country house
Close to a small English village
With a typical English village green
Where white clothed English gentlemen
Play the English game of cricket
On sunny English afternoons
The sound of leather hitting willow
Followed by civilized English applause
From the warm-beer sipping English spectators
Brings back fond memories
I am in jolly old England
I used to dread mornings
That sinking feeling upon waking
About all the things to be done that day
And the inevitable rush to get out of the house
Watching the clock go fast while scrambling to get ready
Grabbing a really fast and unsatisfying breakfast
Getting really frustrated during the busy commute
Arriving at work just on time but already exhausted
Then I started to take control of the mornings
The first step was planning ahead the night before
Laying out clothes to wear for the next day
Checking that important papers for tomorrow were in my bag
I made an effort to get up even earlier
Mornings started to go smoother
I had time to reflect and plan the day
Leaving home earlier made the commute less stressful
Next was adding more things into my mornings
A workout or a run before breakfast
Listening to a play on the radio while commuting
I still managed to get to work early
Taking control of my mornings
Sets me up to stay in control all day
Sure I still sometimes have anxious thoughts when waking
But by the time I have watched an early sunrise my outlook is always positive
On the west coast of Florida
I sat outside by the dock early one morning
A hot cup of tea by my side
The low sun donated a temporary pink hue to the fluffy white clouds
The light breeze danced on the water to make tiny ripples
Birds sang their daily dawn chorus
No sign of human activity
It was my time to be alone with nature
I watched an egret stepping through the shallows
Stealthily searching for sustenance
Just like all other animals
Food water and shelter are their essential yet simple needs
Animals have no need to be fed news 24/7
They have no stress induced by pandemic worries or politics
I wondered what it would be like to have the mind of an animal
Suddenly I saw a big splash in the water
A dolphin surfaced close to the dock
He was probably feeding on small fish
Surfacing again about ten feet from me
We made eye contact briefly
It was long enough for us both to size each other up
I am sure he was thinking about me
Wondering what this human was doing up so early
He swirled around and leapt up high
Slapping his tail on the surface with a loud crack
It was his way of saying hi to me
I waved back and smiled next time he surfaced
I am pretty sure he smiled at me before he swam off
He probably went to his pod to tell them about the human who smiled and waved at him
I could not wait to tell everybody about my fabulous start to the day
Hot tea and a wave from a friendly dolphin
I like to wake up early
Harness the power of the morning
Get big things done before breakfast
And some more soon after
Leaving almost the entire day left for other challenges
Sometimes it does not work out
When I am sick for example
Even a mild sickness like a cold can disrupt my morning time
Laying in bed late today after a restless night of coughing and sneezing
I tested negative for Covid a few days ago which left me elated
But a simple cold virus still knocked me down
Unable to capture my morning today
I watched it slide away from me
Like a drifting ship in a light breeze
Quickly out of my reach but still visible
Teasing me for not getting aboard earlier
Looking out of my window
I see early morning joggers and cyclists returning home now
Reminding me that I missed boarding my own exercising boat today
My bike hangs on the wall waiting for me
He is giving me that sad puppy eyes look
I will have to avoid his gaze for the rest of the day
With low energy and feeling fatigued
Even writing becomes a tiring task
My fingers groan at every keystroke
My mind is in a fog and refuses to unlock my imagination
I suspect my imagination has been put into mandatory isolation
For fear that he too could be infected with my cold virus
I wonder if this is an early taste of very old age
When your body is no longer able to keep you active
And your mind is too weary let your imagination run riot in your head
Shudder the thought
Its too soon to surrender my eternal youth
I have so much more to do before surrendering to old age
In the meantime I am putting up a wanted poster
For all you bounty hunters out there
Wanted
Ian’s morning
Recently escaped
Reward only if captured alive
Cheeky Monkey Poetry 