The University of Texas at Austin

Law in Popular Culture collection

Off the Record: An Anthology of Poetry by Lawyers

SARA JANE BOYERS
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Early Morning

Sounds sweep first as dewdrops drizzle.
One bird calls out. More to follow.
Ducks start quacking. Dogs start barking.
And the light is peeking in.
Soft soft grays, the hints of mist,
Warm to pinks, then reds to blue.
Haloing pastel clouds on high that
Slowly settle to my pillow.
Soon a frog. His questioning croak
Announces cars that swoosh right by.
Neighbors walking, talking, murmuring.
Birds start darting through the sky.
Dreams retreating. Hope arising.
Fueled by visions of my day.
One eye open. Now the other.
Stretching through expectant yawns.
Kitten purring. Smells of breakfast
Wafting upward to my room.
Curtains drawn. My shadow greets me.
The stage on which I walk now lit.
Mother's coming. Warm bath's waiting.

I wake to live the world.

[85]



Sara Jane Boyers is a former music industry attorney/executive and personal manager of performers, who changed directions to become a writer. She is a graduate of the University of California (Berkeley & Los Angeles) with a B.F.A. in Art History and holds a J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School.
Boyers is the creator of a popular series of illustrated books on contemporary art and poetry. Her first book, Life Doesn't Frighten Me (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1993), is an award-winning pairing of the expressive art of Jean-Michel Basquiat and a Maya Angelou poem. Her second book, O Beautiful for Spacious Skies (Chronicle Books, 1994) combines the whimsical paintings of Wayne Thiebaud with the famous hymn, "America the Beautiful," written by a 19th century educator, poet and suffragette, Katharine Lee Bates. Teen Power Politics: Make Yourself Heard (Millbrook Press, 2000), Boyers' most recent publication, is an issue-oriented book on civics and political activism for youth.
A resident of Southern California, Boyers is a contributor to print journals and websites, a lecturer on issues of civic and political involvement, and the creator/owner of an e-newsletter and website which focuses on political issues and current events of interest to young people.