First Light

Faye Rapoport DesPres

Stray feathers stubbornly
stick to an aluminum bowl.
I tip it; soiled water slides out.
The sun rises. The air is fresh,
fragrant with cherry blossoms. 

Yesterday’s mess lingers,
forsaken feathers, small sticks,
fallen buds floating above the blanket
of dirt at the bottom of the bird bath.
I set about my work: spill, refill, refresh. 

These are the moments when I wash it all away -
the lovely disarray of life from yesterday.

Faye Rapoport DesPres is the author of the essay collection Message From a Blue Jay and the Stray Cat Stories children's book series. She earned her MFA from the Solstice Creative Writing Program, and her work has been published in a variety of literary journals.