Mist protects the souls of the trusted oak
as the sky is lit by a morning flame
streaking across vast expanses of cool blue

Songbirds stretch their wings
and begin their morning chorus to the earth,

Nearby cormorants adorn a line of wooden posts
their ghostly silhouettes seen above water's haze
Teal and Mallard chatter noisily as the darkness fades
The lake is warmed with autumn colour
Reflections of change, warmly embraced by nature.

A lone marsh harrier glides over rusted reedbeds
Her presence felt by the gathered masses below
Two herons chase each other, their figures mirrored flawlessly as they pass across the mere.
They rest in a tree, petrified and ancient.
A scene from a Jurassic age.

In the quiet of a woodland floor
Injections of colour and shape can be found in the form of festive fungi
Petal and bell structures litter the floor
strewn between technicolour leaves
lit up as the morning sun creeps ever upwards

A squirrel happily hops along soft moss
that decorates a dry stone wall
Suspicious of sudden noise, an eruption is heard from the small, playful creature
A few seconds later, branches break and leaves rustle,
He is gone.

Just the trees stand.

Patient, presenting beautifully their seasonal colours and filling the darkest shadows with a golden glow and crisp bronze leaves.

I connect to everyone of these moments
My heart beats in time with the movements of the birds, flitting from tree to tree.
My senses are alive as the earth rejoices in life.
The renewal of energy from one season to the next.

I am present.

I breathe with the morning

lisa naylor