Sea Isle City, NJ,

Sunrise Jan. 1^st, 2004…

My hometown is the place this picture was taken,

At sunrise prior to the time the populace did awaken,

But as you can see the birds are out,

Rufuz kept them flying in the air,

As he felt if he had to be awake, it was only fair.

The beach and ocean so quiet this morning,

Only the gulls with their calls of warning,

“Keep away from us or not,”

“There is a dog,”

 “Keeping us away from our breakfast spot.”

The temperature in the upper forties,

So nice for this time of year,

For this the southern beaches of New Jersey,

We walk and talk to each other,

And that of Mother Ocean.

No rain, nor even a hint of wind,

Just the warming rays of the sun,

It’s almost as if I have won,

The lottery for beautiful mornings,

Even if it were cool,

Rufuz is quite thick-skinned,

And I am well dressed,

As I am no fool.

Ah, what a wonderful way to start our New Year,

With a walk on this lovely beach, so early,

Wish this could be an everyday thing,

But, alas, we live to far, to make this trip,

Day in & day out,

I guess I should end here as,

I really do feel myself about to pout…

                                                            (ed)