First Things RSS Feed - Eric Trethewey https://www.firstthings.com/author/eric-trethewey en-us Copyright 2025 First Things. All Rights Reserved. ft@firstthings.com (The Editors) ft@firstthings.com (The Editors) Mon, 20 Jan 2025 16:50:47 -0500 https://d2201k5v4hmrsv.cloudfront.net/img/favicon-196.png First Things RSS Feed Image https://www.firstthings.com/rss/author/eric-trethewey 60 Near Dawn https://www.firstthings.com/article/1991/12/near-dawn https://www.firstthings.com/article/1991/12/near-dawn Sun, 01 Dec 1991 00:00:00 -0500 Tugged out of bed by a dream,
he enters the world, confronts
cats stalking the hallway,
aghast at this early walker.
The moon, almost full, glows
on the crust of old snow.

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]]> At Home https://www.firstthings.com/article/1991/08/at-home https://www.firstthings.com/article/1991/08/at-home Thu, 01 Aug 1991 00:00:00 -0400 This morning, early, I wakened 
to a knocking at the pane—an apple bough, 
fruit-laden, stirred by wind—
and rose to the morning’s clear gift. 
Outdoors in sunlight, bending 
to the kind of labor that gives back 
more than it costs, I mowed the grass 
and planted a sycamore that with luck 
will rise above most things, outlast 
all else I’ve set my hands to do. 
Working this day to the nub, my own way, 
I hoed the garden of its weeds, 
the fragile order of an intention 
added to what nature had to offer. 
I took it. It was mine, though more 
than most have reason to expect.

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