Chipmonks at Dawn

long after the dawn breaks

the chipmunk rises

and it’s chirp infuriates

.

incessantly loud and painfully shrill

warping my weary mind

with thoughts of its demise until

.

an elderly man who is passing

sends a prayer

and speaks aloud a blessing

.

he says that noise is the cry

of a grieving mother whose

babies have died

.

igniting my compassion aflame

evaporating resistance

to the noise piercing my brain

.

information with power to transform

an angry heart back to the one

with which I was born

.

knowledge and truth

are rivers to the sea

of compassion and love

which set us all free