Consider the rooster
who rises with the sun
and beats his wings and cries
“the light is come!”
Consider how he combs
the grass a spring breeze bends
to lay the best of all he finds
at the feet of waiting hens.
Consider his lone watch,
the keenness of his eye,
tirelessly discerning
danger from the sky.
Consider, too, his office:
preserver of the peace,
mediating disagreements,
remembering the weak.
Consider last the beating
of his brave, unguarded heart
which drives him on to certain death
between the others and the dark.
