Have you ever gotten up so early

That you felt the motivation to go outside and watch the sun appear?

For a moment, the sky is dark, then the moment you happen to blink your eyes

The glowing brightness rises up and you miss it.

Without being fazed by the millisecond of blackness,

You conclude that the sun came up right after the light returned to your pupils.

Then the luminescent spirals of heat roll off the ball of brightness

And you gasp in wonder at the beauty and magnificence of nature.

For minutes you sit here, losing yourself to time,

Not realizing that the clock is ticking and the morning is coming.

You have exited your body; your soul is the observer

And nothing can bring you back into one piece again.

Oblivion is not a concept to be feared and your consciousness agrees without doubt,

You are lapsing into the reverie of awe.

Swirling beams of flame and gas are streaming from the heavens,

And there is nothing that can stop it, or so you think.

The reality of life strikes you much later, when your alarm blares

From the half-open windows of your bedroom.

From your stupor you wake, harried and distraught,

Ashamed at your ignorant waste of time.

Your work is calling, your toddler is crying, and your husband is out somewhere

And the tragedy, exhaustion, and hopelessness of your overloaded life hits you.

For only what you estimate to be ten minutes you stared at the sun

In that time you forgot about the worries and rushes of the realist’s mind.

Like the last flare of light in the evening, your momentary admiration died,

And it all came back to you, crippling the free spirit that you always keep leashed.