Pre-Dawn...

There is beauty in the world before the pre-dawn sun converts night to morning. As the earth circles the sun, darkness creeps deeper and deeper into the early hours. Without light, black envelopes everything, surrounds the world, masks colors, hides life.

Those awake in the early-morning hours shuffle about thanks to artificial light, substitutes mimicking the sun's natural illumination. We travel from place to place, lacking a celestial direction, making our way to work, home, airports, jails, hospitals, convenience stores.

A quick look out the bus window, a couple of pictures taken that can in no way do the scene of clouds and approaching light justice. Walking to my building as the bus drove away the beauty in the sky shifted, the clouds no longer hung like drapes awaiting the dawn. They disappeared into the morning air.

The sun crested the mountain eliminating dawn and ushering in morning's beginning. By that time I sat at my desk, surrounded by cubicle walls and computer monitors. Tomorrow, I'll be on the same bus, the morning coming seconds later than it did today. I hope to look outside the bus window and see a pre-dawn world, one full of oncoming light and promise. We shall see.