I'll find my way back to you, if you'll be waiting

I stopped on my way in this morning to watch the sunrise. 

At the corner of 13th street and Clifton Street in Washington, DC, it's possible to see for miles.  The City is pretty much in a basin, with the exception of a few hills (Capitol Hill being one of them).  From this corner on 13th, facing South, the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument are visible.  I've always wanted to stop here on my commute in to work and watch the sunrise, in the mornings the view can be spectacular.

So, this morning I pulled over.  It's the last day of work before Christmas and my car pooler stayed home, so I seized the opportunity.  I stopped, turned off the engine, and I sat.  Tracy Chapman's song, "The Promise", was playing on my iPod.  There was a woman dressed in a warm coat and yoga pants, jogging up and down and up and down the steep hill, very focused on her workout.  A man, wrapped in a scarf and a wool coat, was rushing down hill on the other side of the street.  I was the only one looking to the East, waiting for the sun. 

It wasn't a particularly spectacular sunrise, there were no glowing streaks of  light, no splashes of oranges and pinks, no bright glowing yellow disk burning my retinas.  This morning, the sunrise was subtle.  There was some cloud coverage that hid the horizon, although the Capitol and the Washington Monument were perfectly visible.  I sat, and I waited, and the world brightened.  Very quietly, very peacefully, brightened.  The streetlights in the distance became less twinkling, then less visible, then disappeared altogether. The sky, what was visible of it, very slowly changed from charcoal grey, to a pale light blue. I had just witnessed another day beginning.

It was at that moment that I realized I was wrong.  This sunrise was spectacular.  Despite the colorlessness of it, the beauty was in it's subtly.  Another day has been given to me.  Another chance to learn, to love, to appreciate the wonders that surround me.  This City is my home.  This Country is my home.  This Earth, this glorious Earth, is my home.  I am alive.  I am thankful for today. 

Tracy Chapman - The Promise

If you wait for me
Then I'll come for you
Although I've traveled far
I always hold a place for you in my heart

If you think of me
If you miss me once in awhile
Then I'll return to you
I'll return and fill that space in your heart

Remembering
Your touch
Your kiss
Your warm embrace
I'll find my way back to you
If you'll be waiting

If you dream of me
Like I dream of you
In a place that's warm and dark
In a place where I can feel the beating of your heart

Remembering
Your touch
Your kiss
Your warm embrace
I'll find my way back to you
If you'll be waiting

I've longed for you
And I have desired
To see your face your smile
To be with you wherever you are

Remembering
Your touch
Your kiss
Your warm embrace
I'll find my way back to you
Please say you'll be waiting

Together again
It would feel so good to be
In your arms
Where all my journeys end
If you can make a promise
If it's one that you can keep
I vow to come for you
If you wait for me

And say you'll hold
A place for me
In your heart.