Stillness of dawn

The smooth skin of the beach lays untouched,
except for one path of seagull’s prints.
Early morning rituals,
you see it now
preening out on the water,
perched amongst the bull kelp,
bulbous heads bobbing
like lazy seals.

The tidal streams
stretch fingers into the undisturbed sand-
sketching,
in the early light,
abstract portraits of the mountains.

Those monolithic muses,
still cozy in their vaporous covers.
The sun
wakes them gently,
trickling warmth
across their broad shoulders
and down curled spines.