Morning Glow

The blaze of early sun

Blinds and dazzles,

Dancing and reflecting

Off the corrugated tin

That serves as roof and fence.

The effect? Fleeting but magical.

A warm, white glow, cast like a net

That encompasses and obscures

With a sort of subdued intensity

All across this shantytown.

The sun plays its tricks,

Creating a false sense of quiet,

An illusion of peace and calm

Before rising high to lay bare

Hunger and poverty, crowding the streets

Like the rows of makeshift shacks.

But maybe this luminescent blanket

Is not a cruel hoax of nature.

Perhaps it’s a gesture of kindness;

A chance for this place to catch its breath,

If only for a moment.

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[Author's Note: This poem was first published in the journal First Reads (St. Vincent, West Indies) in 2010).]