"Sunrise Yosemite Valley" by Bierstadt‘I Will Awaken the Dawn’: A Poem by Rachel Meyer The Society January 22, 2025 Beauty, Poetry 15 Comments . I Will Awaken the Dawn The birds have yet to echo Their songs across the trees, The sun has yet to whistle Its foggy rays in streams, The dark still holds the world, Creation slumbers on; But now the time has come, And I will awaken the dawn. The dew has yet to sparkle Its bright and spritely shimmer, The air has yet to breathe Its gossamer windy murmur, The creatures of earth lie still— As if, for the present, gone; But soon they will rise with the day, For I will awaken the dawn. For rocks were made to worship, And trees were made to sing; Though not a sound comes from them Their praises loudly ring. But darkness knows no wonders Beneath it, good is withdrawn; But light exalts His glory, So I will awaken the dawn. . . Rachel Meyer is a communications specialist for FIS and resides in Atlanta, GA. She is a member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus. More of her work can be found on her website www.rachelmeyer.org. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Trending now: 15 Responses Michael Pietrack January 22, 2025 Romans 1:20 Reply Cynthia Erlandson January 23, 2025 The invisible seen through the visible! I think that is part of our job as poets and artists— to help our readers and viewers to better understand truth “by the things that are made,” as the imagery in this poem does. Reply Rachel Meyer February 4, 2025 This is a great connection, Michael, thank you for sharing. Indeed, “God’s invisible qualities” are reflected in “what has been made,” including the glorious natural wonders of each day which begin with the dawn. Reply Paul A. Freeman January 22, 2025 I really enjoyed this piece with the close repetition to the final line in each stanza and the vivid imagery. The final two lines confused me though, since I felt the POV was of the Almighty until the penultimate line. Reply Rachel Meyer February 4, 2025 Paul, thank you! I’m happy you enjoyed it. To shed more light on my intentions and inspiration behind this piece, I recommend checking out Psalm 57 and 108. Reply Brandon Jowell January 22, 2025 What a wonderful poem! I love the rhythm. It woke in me a desire to glorify God Thank you. Reply jd January 25, 2025 One can’t wish more from a poem than that! Reply Rachel Meyer February 4, 2025 Thank you Brandon! That is my hope for all my writing. Thank you for sharing. Roy Eugene Peterson January 22, 2025 Elegant soliloquy on being the first being to awaken in what I take is predawn and ponder the world in appreciation of all that God hath wrought. Great imagery and thought reflection. Reply Rachel Meyer February 4, 2025 Thank you, Roy! Reply fred schueler January 22, 2025 here’s an O2B ditty for about 20 minutes later: Oh to be a morning Robin chorusing to greet the dawn, and to be the western margin of a continent of song. Reply Satyananda Sarangi January 23, 2025 Dear Rachel, greetings! The cadence of this poem connected me to the natural world, much like the works of H.W. Longfellow (my 1st mentor). This is profound, powerful and picturesque. Looking forward to reading more from you. Reply Rachel Meyer February 4, 2025 Satyananda, thank you! I am honored that this reminded you of Longfellow — he is one of my favorites. Reply Margaret Coats January 24, 2025 Rachel, your poem is a lovely psalm-like appreciation of creation and of the morning of each day. I believe the refrain is in fact modeled on a line from the Psalms. You put it to excellent use, at first describing your poetic activity, and in the final stanza explaining that the poet elicits those latent faculties for which creation was brought into being. Each day, no less! Reply Rachel Meyer February 4, 2025 Margaret, thank you! You’re right on — I was inspired by Psalms 57 and 108. I appreciate your words! Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Cynthia Erlandson January 23, 2025 The invisible seen through the visible! I think that is part of our job as poets and artists— to help our readers and viewers to better understand truth “by the things that are made,” as the imagery in this poem does. Reply
Rachel Meyer February 4, 2025 This is a great connection, Michael, thank you for sharing. Indeed, “God’s invisible qualities” are reflected in “what has been made,” including the glorious natural wonders of each day which begin with the dawn. Reply
Paul A. Freeman January 22, 2025 I really enjoyed this piece with the close repetition to the final line in each stanza and the vivid imagery. The final two lines confused me though, since I felt the POV was of the Almighty until the penultimate line. Reply
Rachel Meyer February 4, 2025 Paul, thank you! I’m happy you enjoyed it. To shed more light on my intentions and inspiration behind this piece, I recommend checking out Psalm 57 and 108. Reply
Brandon Jowell January 22, 2025 What a wonderful poem! I love the rhythm. It woke in me a desire to glorify God Thank you. Reply
Rachel Meyer February 4, 2025 Thank you Brandon! That is my hope for all my writing. Thank you for sharing.
Roy Eugene Peterson January 22, 2025 Elegant soliloquy on being the first being to awaken in what I take is predawn and ponder the world in appreciation of all that God hath wrought. Great imagery and thought reflection. Reply
fred schueler January 22, 2025 here’s an O2B ditty for about 20 minutes later: Oh to be a morning Robin chorusing to greet the dawn, and to be the western margin of a continent of song. Reply
Satyananda Sarangi January 23, 2025 Dear Rachel, greetings! The cadence of this poem connected me to the natural world, much like the works of H.W. Longfellow (my 1st mentor). This is profound, powerful and picturesque. Looking forward to reading more from you. Reply
Rachel Meyer February 4, 2025 Satyananda, thank you! I am honored that this reminded you of Longfellow — he is one of my favorites. Reply
Margaret Coats January 24, 2025 Rachel, your poem is a lovely psalm-like appreciation of creation and of the morning of each day. I believe the refrain is in fact modeled on a line from the Psalms. You put it to excellent use, at first describing your poetic activity, and in the final stanza explaining that the poet elicits those latent faculties for which creation was brought into being. Each day, no less! Reply
Rachel Meyer February 4, 2025 Margaret, thank you! You’re right on — I was inspired by Psalms 57 and 108. I appreciate your words! Reply