Morning on the Cape

The room is brightened only by the hallway lamp
As the darkness of the night has not yet been broken
And the only sound is the gentle breathing
Of my best friend and partner resting beside me.

As the light begins to spread through and over the blackness
And the leaves begin to move in the breeze and send out their gentle sounds
We rise, we stretch, we slowly dress
In preparation for a walking adventure to the ocean

As we transition from the quietness of the gray shingled house
Filled with sleeping friends who remain in their beds unstirring
To the cool morning air and rising light levels overlapping the darkness
We move at a gentle gait down the dirt and gravely road toward the waiting ocean

Few souls are out on this delicious early Sunday morning
We have the road and paths to ourselves - a rare "peace" of solitude
And we pass at a comfortable pace, so that we can soak in our surrounding,
By the sandy dunes on each side, pierced by the marsh grass and accented by pieces gray wood fencing.

Our footsteps onto the paved road mark the end of the tranquility of our path
Signalling the encroachment of more modern and upscale civilization
But the pavement leads to a sandy beached, strewn with seaweed and stones
One brave soul adjusting his goggles as he slowily and causiously submerges his moderately tanned body into the morning's ocean waters.

Then into the "Private - No Trespassing" neighborhood
With humongeous homes rising from perfectly manicured yards
Ocean views from the multiple porches and expansive windows
From which the ever moving waters and ever changing boats can be tracked.

But somewhere in the Black Beach enclave that is our home for a day
The unmoving are now moving, the sleeping sleep no more
So we return from whence we came though our starting point is only temporary
And re-enter the peaceful setting for sustenance and calm before a walk to the beach.

And as we pack and prepare for the walk down the road, over the up and down dune,
Across the ever inviting beach toward the quiet canal joining the salt marsh to the ocean
We are filled with the smell of the salt water and the cool, not yet humid morning air filling with the chirping of fluttering birds
And we are content with the knowledge that a setting of natural beauty awaits us again today.