The Summons

 Sunrise Nice France,  Photo Dreamtime.com

The Summons

by Mary M Payne

I want to get up early before sunrise,

before the black birds even,

before the gendarmes patrol. 

I will tug on my clothes ,

shaking dreams aside 

and start down the empty road

to the forsaken sea.

I will watch the sky lighten by degrees

the first shards of gold, creamsicle orange, 

a fanning of pinks. 

I want to suffer again the “galets”

flat and round as dough cakes

shape-shifting under my feet, 

to hear the murmuring of old man Mediterranean 

encouraging, preaching, beckoning.

I will footmark the Covid forbidden beach

while I launch a prayer of thanks. ..

to the god of nature, to water spirits,
to trees, to bees and….yes, to people…

that rare sub-species…”the caregivers.”

I want to get up early before sunrise

before the street lights blink out,

before the merles’ tentative trills,

before the first stirrings, 

I will stealth on padded feet to the sea,

to glory in what we've never lost.