DAWNING GIFTS

Morphed now to silt,
velvety-warm mud, submerged
in a 12-hour cycle,
revealed only moments ago
by a receding tide.

Kennebec River vista
freshly kissed by dewy webs,
richly scented of musky earth.
Following an invigorating
pre-dawn swim, Swango Princess
wraps a familiar silky robe
around her damp body.

The wink of a new moon
sprays swaths of incandescence,
illuminating the sky canvas,
revealing Venus and Jupiter
amongst wispy clouds dissolving
in the distance, presenting pastel hues
in a water-colored horizon.

The flash of dawn turns muted tones
to brilliant crimson flames,
igniting the sky reflected in
the surface of the turning tide.
Fathoms below, sturgeon rise to arch,
slapping down upon the fiery surface
as if to extinguish the flames.

Deep below the Dresden-Richmond Bridge
arching skyward into the crimson array,
ancient turtles burrow in newly exposed mud,
instinctively knowing their gift
from the deep is brief, tidal-dependent,
soon to disappear, returning only
at the next incoming tide.