Mt. Adams at Sunrise

By Tiel Aisha Ansari

Dawn carves darkness away from the peak
like a sculptor removing every fragment of stone
that's not part of the figure.

Now the alpenglow reveals details:
a delicate cap of cloud,
late-summer pockets of snow
above the dark convolutions of the tree line.

Cows watch from the pasture as a nighthawk
passes over, carrying the last shreds of darkness
away on its wings.

Fire rims the east face briefly
and disappears as the mountain nods its head
to the rising sun.

Quietly the world is recreated.
Cold wind meets the first rays of sunlight
in an empty field.