Daybreak

Kelle Cunningham

There was life 
in the dewy particles
of the space 
between
her thoughts
A wren a flash
of red in the early 
morning
A glow 
in the half light
And the sparks
of their chatter
one to another
as they hopped about 
the grass
beside the walking track
darting
 into the reeds
of the marshland
picking seeds
from stones
Splashes 
of scarlet feather
in the heart
of the June morning
the freezing
Warrnambool weather
And in this space 
without words
she soared

During the pandemic I was very busy being an aged care worker, and in addition visiting my aged parents in the country who are at stage in their lives when they need care.   I cared for them last year and gained inspiration for this poem while on an early morning work around a lake in Warrnambool.  The birds lifted my spirits, their beauty making me stop for a while to breath and enjoy the moment

Kelle Cunningham lives in Melbourne and has worked for the Salvation Army for eight years as a carer.  She is currently having a pause.  She attends the Moat poet meetings in Melbourne and studied poetry with Judith Rodriguez.  She was born in Warrnambool and still loves ocean swimming to clear the cobwebs.