tis a pity, a pity tis that i am not a morning person, for the quiet and diffuse light of the waking hours of the day is transcendent. The sunrise this morning was surreal; a sharp orange glow turned the windows of the buildings facing the sun to burnished copper. Pink-streaked clouds gave way to a hallucinatory radiance of salmon, lavender, electric yellow, and azure.

Cities can be beautiful asleep at dawn.