The Pre-Pre-Dawn Chorus

The pre-pre-dawn chorus
has room for soloists
a rich melodious tapestry
of tropical birds

Around 4am
they can hear themselves singing
between yesterday's and today's
medleys of multipitched human voices
motorcycles, car engines and horns
alarms, prayers broadcast from temples
churches and mosques competing with radios
of street vendors, dogs and goats
and incessant crows

Shows that sometimes
it pays to be early