This Dawn by Diane Engelstad

Mesut Yalçın

This Dawn

My first encounter

When I step softly

Into the tawny hallway dawn

Out of the dark

Where my lover still drowses

Between the sheets

Is with Milo

The languid feline stretch of him

A long curve

Body language just for me –

Some kind of punctuation mark

Or a musical notation

A landscape

A path reaching for a tantalizing adventure.

He growl-purrs his morning greeting

Waves the tip of his tail

To me or some mysterious impulse

And flips his top half only

To form an unfurled S

Curling each paw in tandem 

Basking in the changing light.

I crouch all the way down

To the carpet

Kiss his furry head

Sniff the wildness there

Touch his wet nose with mine.

How could I not?

This

This

Holds all the beginnings 

Of a new 

Holy day  

(From Diane Engelstad's book In the Presence of Trees, All the Space Publishing, 2026)

© Diane Engelstad

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Diane Engelstad

Diane Engelstad lives in a small town in Ontario, Canada, and has been writing poetry for about ten years. A late bloomer, she is inspired by the world, mystery, moments of clarity, trees, and the loves of her life. She published two volumes of poetry in 2026 -- In the Presence of Trees: Poems for finding your footing; and Begin Again: Poems for praying without ceasing; available from All the Space Publishing, diane@engelstad.ca.

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