The Temperature of Morning
To you. There are days when I open my eyes and no sunlight comes through the curtains. Not because it's cloudy, just because the curtains are thick. On those days the alarm seems a little more hateful than usual. Today, once again, I got out of bed pressed down by that hateful sound. I went to the kitchen and boiled water. It felt like such a long time since I'd heard the kettle steaming that I just stood there and watched it. Looking out the window while I waited, I saw the ginkgo tree by the road had begun to turn yellow. The leaves shining in the morning sun made me think, that tree is growing well at its own pace. The days that rushed past until yesterday leave me a little wistful, but this morning, at least the time it takes for water to boil this slowly feels wholly mine. I hope you too, this morning, manage to keep enough time for a glass of water.
When I boil water in the morning, that hour alone looks different to me too. One day last week, a ripe persimmon lay fallen in the flower bed outside the window. A magpie must have dropped it in flight.