Clearly, I like Mary Oliver. I can’t help but imagine Mr. Rogers reciting this poem. And that recommends it, I say.

I do wake early, but I attribute that to my age rather than any self-discipline. (I haven’t used an alarm to wake me in many years.)

This poem, I hope, will be a helpful reminder to “start the day in happiness” and not at the mercy of what made the news or what’s in my in-box, which might nudge me more toward the dispositions of “the miserable and crotchety”.

May more mornings be first illuminated by the warm glow of the morning sun rather than the pallid, artificial glow of a computer screen.