Worms

Good Morning!
No sun yet.
Still stars.

Not day.

Still night.

Still night.

Can’t sleep.

Don’t try.

"Come out with us."

The peepers cry.

Slippers and coat,

I sit in the field.

Look into darkness.
See gray shadows on black.

Behind me a robin
gives the first cry.
Then another and more
abandon trees for the sky.

As black turns to steel
then steel to pink glow,
a "fwoomp" of feathers behind me.
The early bird gets the worm.
You know.

The morning darkness called me out of bed. What had felt like the curse of a sleepless night turned into a blessing as I was allowed to see the dawning of what felt like the first Spring day. The calendar says a few more weeks until Spring, but the robins say "Now!" As the daylight expanded, the woods exploded robins onto the hay field and over the yard. Perhaps the worms are to blame. Thousands of worms a few inches below the ground's surface had received a message hidden from mere humans. The message said, "Today will be warm. Come to the light and see what awaits." Well, what waited for many was the quick snatch of a robin's bill. The birds who had impatiently huddled in the woods, waiting for winter to end were finally being rewarded with a breakfast that was to continue through the day.