Dear calico she does her daily mee-yowll,

a post-breakfast roaring lioness, beagle 

grunts & groans in doggy joy of back roll 

& squirm, sparrows & roosters, doves & 

orioles enchant this first coffee with chirps 

& crows, coos & cries, while I, tapping out 

these words on my phone, vowels rolling over 

tongue, all such music not only for ourselves,

for the ecstasy of stretch, but also some sacred 

task, heralding one to another: We Are Here!

First published in Honeyguide Literary Magazine, October 2023: https://www.honeyguidemag.com/morning-chorus-ann-van-wijgerden?fbclid=IwAR3sfU3C9_kp-u6YEbcy3y2wiSodu_PlfEdrHydbb5MosCFsCVl2oW2VVLE