you know how there are some days that you need a sunrise just to put everything back in perspective? today was one of those days. i knew last night that i needed to go in search of sky gold and other early morning treasures.
without setting an alarm, and having been utterly exhausted on friday night, i wound up sleeping an hour later than i wanted to. none the less, i was able to have Blue out of her garage by 0515 or so. there was a lot more light in the sky than i was hoping for by the time i rolled the bike to the road to start her up. still, i was happy to be out in the cool air and greeted morning with beautiful Triumph thunder.
i hopped on the slab right in town and headed east. within the first mile i see strands of back lit pink stretched across the sky. all was not lost. i figured worst case scenario, i'd get home and do my best to conjure the images for you with words--if not photos. i took out my trusty imaginary camera and clicked away.
most of the regular readers here know how i long for the Blue Ridge mountains. so much so, i forget sometimes, that there is beauty to be held, within a few miles from where i live. the Connecticut shore line offers The Long Island Sound, rivers, inlets, marsh land; all within a short distance.
when i got to the water in the Pine Orchard section of Branford, there were no streaks or swirls of color; but a smooth surface and pale pink sky stretched out to my horizon.
i figured by this point the morning color show was out of reach; but kept riding anyway. it wasn't yet 0600 and i was enjoying the solitude and the small hours of day. i headed out to Stony Creek; a little (snobbish)enclave tucked into the shoreline. a great place to head out in a kayak and explore the Thimble Islands of Connecticut.
had it been any later in the day, the dock area would have been a swarm with people and way too many cars. i caught it early enough to be only one of two people in sight. as i pulled up to the dock a woman was heading out on a little motor boat, leaving quietly as i rumbled to a stop.
i sat for a few minutes watching birds. holding the quiet...trying to let my over active mind slow down...i looked over at Blue and knew i had to feel out the rest of this morning.
there is a small series of twisty road that runs from Branford to Guilford, CT that cuts through some marsh land. i got back into my helmet and started up the bike. slowly, i made my way out of the dock area and leaned the bike to the twists. coming out of a sharp, limited visibility turn, i looked at the sky and found my morning treasure.
there it was. the sunrise gold my soul was hungry for. enough width in the shoulder of the road to pull over for photos. the last time i specifically headed out on a weekend morning in search of sunrise; Blue had a dead battery. it was a most frustrating experience that ate up the better part of a day. today more than made up for that lost opportunity.
satisfied that i had captured my daydream, i went on for a few more miles. a chill started to get the best of me; so i turned for home.
i'll end my tale with
This Day. a poem by e.e. cummings. more fitting words are lost to me right now.
[ T h i s D a y ]
i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginably You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
- e. e. cummings
