WALKING BEFORE DAWN

They have plenty of light
in the early mornings.
There's the lamp
giving its golden gift
as they lace their shoes,
and there's the flashlight
that goes with them
like a willing worker.
There are stars in the sky
standing guard,
and there are thoughts
thronging around them
like sweet-tempered flames
as they walk with each other
under the soft shine 
of the streets' own lights.

SITTING AND WAITING

He was sitting and waiting
for wonderful things to happen,
so he paid no attention
to the traveling clouds in the sky,
or to the shining skin of the apple
on his table, or to the turning
of the earth beneath him.
Heaven was here in his classroom,
but he was sitting and waiting
for something else, so he didn't notice
the newness in his heartbeats
or the holiness of his thoughts
as they stood up in his mind
surrounded by soft lights.
He didn't see
the signs of miracles
in the butterflies moving outside,
or in the fresh afternoon 
unfolding across the fields.