Sunrise Surprise

You woke me before the dawn.

and I grumbled.

What could be better

than the warmth

of lying close to you?

You  urged me to hurry up

and get dressed, and I

wondered why you could not

just come back to bed

and go to sleep.

Groaning, eyes half closed,

I pulled on some clothes,

not even noticing what

I was putting on.

Out of the door we stumbled,

you in childish wonder

and me in a bit of a huff.

I followed you, and

the ocean breeze met us.

Through the sand we trudged

until we came to a blanket,

laid out carefully,

held down by a picnic basket.

You smiled and said, "Sit down."

Speechless, I did as you instructed,

wondering who you were, and

where on earth my husband had

disappeared to...

the man who loved to sleep til noon,

and could care less about romance;

I sat down and you plopped down beside me,

the childish grin still on your face.

You threw another small blanket

over our shoulders,

and poured me coffee from a thermos

you pulled out of the basket.

I was thinking that perhaps you had

finally lost your mind,

for we were sitting on a blanket

on a beach in the dark, drinking coffee.

Then you said, "Look".

I followed your pointing finger

to a spot in the horizon, and

tears welled up inside of me.

The sun, in all of  its brilliance,

was making a slow appearance.

She rose out of the ocean,

orange and red perfection,

illuminating the sky, giving life

to the darkness,

giving life to me and you.

I was speechless,

knowing you remembered the words

I had spoken to you so many years ago

when I told you I had never seen a sunrise,

and that it was something

I wanted to do before I die.

You remembered.

I didn't say a word.

I just sat there watching the day come alive,

my head resting on your shoulder,

knowing that something had

also come alive in me...