In the early morning darkness I go out
to see if I dare ask God for a sign.
No animal or man is yet about
and presently a quiet calm is mine.

On impulse I remove my bedroom shoes.
I feel the new-mown grass beneath my feet,
now wet with drops of freshly fallen dew.
I had forgotten morning was so sweet.

With no moon or stars the sky is stark;
the east reveals no hint of rising sun.
A silence even deeper than the dark
prevails. The noisy day has not begun.

To simply feel God's presence here is bliss;
I could not ask for clearer sign than this.

--Elaine Parker Akin