It is fine to be up in the morning, to rise

with the flowers from their beds of dewy

repose and greet the sun’s broad face, taste

the perfect dawn, perfect in its softness, in

its unhurried determination, like my steady

patter to the kitchen, to press oranges for you,

and then to sit and write this poem, begin

this day’s good work.

Tanner Russo is a lifelong resident of Virginia. He is currently a law student at the University of Virginia School of Law. He previously attended the College of William & Mary and has been published in Winged Nation, one of the college’s literary magazines.

Photography by Paul Hostetler