Matins
    The crust of sleep is broken
Abruptly—
I look drowsily 
Through the wide crack.
I do not know whether I see
Three minds, bird-shaped,
Flashing upon the bough of morning;
Or three delicately tinted souls 
Butterflying in the sun; 
Or three brown-fleshed, husky children
Sprawling hilarious
Over my bed 
And me.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on August 25, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.