Sunrise at Angkor Wat

From warm white cocoons 

we blink open eyes dry from blown silt,

stretching aching limbs as 

we slowly come to life.

Leaving snoring bunkmates

deep within their dreams, 

we set out in search of our own.

Stuffed knee-to-knee, 

we bump down dark, dusty roads

in our race against the rising sun.

Doors slide open, tumble lazily 

into morning’s tempered heat.

We slip among a sea of 

nodding heads and drooping eyes.

As light breaks in the distance, 

quiet chatter subdues in echoes

across the still, reflective pond.

Orange fades to purple, 

yellow, red and pink as

we gaze in wonder just beyond 

the crumbling temple ruins.

So quickly tie-dyed skies 

smudge to even strokes of blue, 

released all at once

from the sky’s hypnotic trance.

Seeing sunrise at Angkor Wat

is to journey back in time

while experiencing the birth 

of each day’s new life.