Insomnia - June 17 2021

 

Insomnia

June 17 2021

It's still light outside

going on 11.

Yet the summer solstice

is a week away;

when the longest day of the year

begins the long slow descent

to the darkest.

Today, I heard the first bird sing

before 5 in the morning,

sounding insistent

and slightly annoyed.

A sensible bird,

emerging in the cool of dawn, and getting to work,

either displaying and courting,

or tending to chicks

and feasting on worms.

Every morning

bursting forth

in strident trills and warbles.

So he certainly does not sing

for beauty.

Or to draw attention to himself

when hawks are circling

and foxes lurk.

No, it's territory, of course

and manly displays of fitness,

like men going to war

or asserting their claim to the spoils.

So as night approaches

I struggle with light,

am awakened each morning

at the crack of dawn.

But as long as sun shines

and the weather is warm

the birds are busy;

in this brief interregnum of summer

for which they have flown so far

to nest and court

mate and gorge.