October 6, 2021

That Fleeting Moment

Nothing stays long enough to know.*

Yesterday, I guesstimated that I’ve photographed more than 500 sunrises over the past two and a half years. When I started, I tended to post every sunrise photo on Facebook. This year, I resolved to post only unusual or particularly beautiful sunrises. Yesterday, I resolved to stop posting any of my sunrises on Facebook. After listening to part of yesterday’s Facebook whistleblower’s testimony, I can’t support a platform that puts more money and energy into fueling hate and fomenting dissent than inspiring creativity and compounding kindness.

The following photos — taken three minutes apart over ten minutes — capture yesterday’s sunrise. The change in just 10 minutes took my breath away.

Stop and look — you are a mere breath in this gorgeous world.

6:49 a.m.
6:52 a.m.
6:55 a.m
6:58 a.m.
7:01 a.m.

*”Nothing stays long enough to know” — from the poem, “Too Many Pigeons to Count and One Dove” by Mary Szybist in her collection, Incarnadine.

13 Comments

  • The photo of me at the top of this post was taken by friend who took it without me knowing and posted it on his Facebook feed. His is an, shall we say, “interesting” story.

    Anyhoo, that’s me with my lowly iPhone 7 trying to keep the bright sun out of my eyes to get the right angle.

  • So, so beautiful. You always have a place with me to share your special sunrises. You know how much I love them. XOXO

  • About the poet, Mary Szybist:

    http://maryszybist.net/index.html

    Her volume of poetry, Incarnadine, won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2013 and that is when I first read it. “Incarnadine” is a vibrant color of red. The poems are about the Virgin Mary, the Annunciation, etc. . . . OR are they about the poet? The poems are intriguing. One is actually diagramed the way you would diagram a sentence. See what I mean when you click on her home page. You can access several of her poems under the “Links” tab.

  • Thank you, both for these magnificent pictures (some of your most spectacular!) and for the courage of your FB decision. Pondering that here too.
    Might you post your pictures each day here?

  • Well, I just posted on Facebook that I am no longer posting my sunrise photos on that platform and invited friends to check out my blog if they PM’d me. It feels good and freeing not to be fueling a way to connect that, according to Facebook’s own documents, fuels hate and anger.

  • Glory. Makes me think of the absence of seers and sharers — yours in these weeks — and the hollows which exist as a result. Makes me think of living in a space unilluminated. And the fact that we know no differently — until we do. Wondering if what you are capturing is … joy? Joy seems incomprehensible — literally “unable to be seized.” So it is with the radiance of these pics. Poetry in them. And much which wants to be written. And illuminated.

    • Good Lord, Bird — there may be poetry in these images, but there is ALWAYS poetry in your words. I always feel like God has touched my lips with a hot coal every time I read what you write. Thank you.

  • I agree with your stance on FaceBook

    Loved the sunrise sequence. I especially was taken by the one with rays shooting out in a distinct pattern.
    You are so gifted.

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