today
i let the dawn
arrive
for once
without trepidation
i allow the cool
mercurial rays
to banish all
the woes of night
and fill the sails
of trailing dreams
i have left fluttering
in my wake

in this
new light
i am disquieted
by a morning chill
but resist the comfort
of my own arms
i refuse to confide
in the hunched shoulders
and retracted limbs
of uncountable years
of instinctual defenses

today
i finally see
the beauty
in a rising star
and allow myself
to be seen
by the dawn