Sacrificial Offering
When the light of morning begins its sweep,
my alarm begins its ceaseless beep
and I leave my bed in a stumbling creep.
With only four scant hours of sleep,
the wall of morning seems rough and steep.
There’s an appointment I must keep.
The dogs who have not made a peep
now howl and bark and moan and weep
as they hear me digging deep
into the harvest they hope to reap.
Their kibble now I scoop and heap
into their bowls. They twist and leap.
As the light of morning ends its creep,
Its rays fall long and harsh and steep,
and they cease to howl and weep.
As they graze their bowls like starving sheep,
it’s now their jaws that twist and leap.
But the price of feeding is not cheap,
as our appointment once more we keep;
for I’ve had merely four hours sleep.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
And don’t forget dessert!
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Aha, a sugar gal, huh? I, too, love dessert but had my first one for a very long time at the awards dinner I went to for the Ojo del Lago today. (Local English language magazine. It’s available online as well.) Are you rested up from your trip?
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Aha…I thought this statement was in reply to my sense of taste posting. I should have realized you would be concerned for the dogs’ menu more than the human one. They always do get a dog biscuit after breakfast and dinner. Never fear, Auntie Marilyn. (I don’t know what happened to those delicious vanilla dog cookies that I think I told you about. They smelled so good that I ate one and it was delicious. Shortly after that, they disappeared. Perhaps Y. found them. She has a real sweet tooth and I can’t keep cookies around for fear of my eating them. Perhaps she, too, succumbed to the doggie treats?
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Dawn
I read your words and wonder why
You chose to miss each morning sky
And in exhaustion there you lie
Upon your rumbled bed.
You laud the quiet of the night;
Distractions gone and you are right.
Each day brings brain fog that you fight.
I think you are misled.
Your body needs its nightly sleep,
Circadian rhythms, REM that’s deep
To heal, refresh and health to keep.
That is what I’ve read.
So toss that nagging clock alarm;
Sleep deprivation causes harm.
Think of your South Dakota farm
And rise to see dawn’s red.
Those predawn early morning hours
Are quiet with creative powers.
A muse denied, oh how she glowers.
Give dawn a try.
Predawn and sunrise feed the soul
With inspiration new and whole.
She awaits you and your hyperbole.
Say yes, you will not die.
You’ll blog in dark but let it be
After sleep has welcomed thee;
And you have awoken naturally:
Alert! Just wait and see.
I guarantee you’ll not be dry.
The words will come and thoughts will fly.
You will adjust come by and by.
Can you agree?
I’ll wait and see.
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Wow, Jan. This is wonderful. I’d like to reblog it. I know it is in my comments, but some people don’t look a comments. If you publish it on your site, I could reblog so the comments and views would come to you. I love this and I’m so flattered that you would go to this length to answer my poem.
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Actually, I always get up at between 7:30 and 8:30 even if I’ve stayed up at night. I do write every morning but usually go to bed somewhere between 2 and 3. Last night I got caught up in a poem a friend had written and was trying to help him post it. For some reason WordPress kept erasing the upadates and changes. The same thing happened to me yesterday morning. They just wouldn’t accept my edits. It would say it had updated, but when I went back to the blog, it showed only an earlier version. At any rate, before we knew it it was 5 a.m. and I had an awards dinner to go to for an English language magazine here in Mexico so I had to get up–no sleeping in. I am not refuting your poem which is wonderful and offers sound advice. I know I should get more sleep but just can’t stand to give up on the day. I want the midnights and the dawns both! Can’t I have it all? Plese see my other note. I think you should publish this on your blog and I’ll reblog it, but I can’t seem to find your blog. Clicking on your name doesn’t work. If you don’t have a blog, with your permission I’ll post this on mine, giving your name as the author.
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Lovely poem Judy! 🙂
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Thanks so much. I just published a poem Jan Arnold sent as a reply to my poem. Perhaps you read it in comments, but if not, you might enjoy reading it as a guest blogger post I just posted.
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Yes, I did read it Judy, it was amazing! 🙂
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Pingback: Dawn–by Jan Arnold (Guest Blogger) | lifelessons – a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown
My days usually start at five am or 6 am, so I can relate to this every day. Such a nice poem and cute dogs too!
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Morrie, Diego and Frida thank you. You are probably sometimes getting up when I am going to bed!
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Ah, those days!
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