7:25 a.m.

The sun has beaten me to this day,
its arms to the sky
while mine stretch and wish
for the quiet victories
of an early rise —
the silent, solitary laps
the final slow rotation
before the crowd roars
and the race begins.

Poem ©2017, Jen Payne. National Poetry Month, 24. Image: Sunrise on the Sea, Camille Pissarro