Rebirth

I woke to the trembling of the beams and the boards of my floor heralding the approaching rumble of a slow freight train. But instead of passing as usual, the train groaned to a stop - her wheels protesting against the shifting and slowing of her heavy weight.

As the dawn rose behind the water towers and smoke stacks, the fresh light gently woke the other colors low on the horizon. The sky seemed as reluctant to wake up to this lazy morning as the train seemed reluctant to pause from its hurry. Or perhaps the train, like me, was simply captivated by the magical birth of one of these last days of summer - at once both the happy welcome of a new day and the somber parting of a season.

Day did not fight her waking long as she stretched herself out above the rooftops, her politely subtle colors wiping the last vestiges of night from her sleepy eyes. As the glow of the morning crept higher, the wheels of the train slowly began to turn again, creaking their farewell to the moment, but once again glad to be about their business. Light danced erratically through the gaps between freight cars as they passed by and warm rays sparkled cheerfully through my window and across my desk like reflections on the water.

Somewhere behind the train as I watched, dawn turned into day.