Only That the Sun Sets*

eOnly That the Sun Setsf

 

(The Last of All Beauties)

 

Only once does the sun set -

And only then are we made

To see that this is so

 

We are stripped of reason, allowed to think,

But not allowed to think in ways that we know

 

We may turn to words later,

 

If there is a later -

 

But, for the moment,

It only matters that the sun sets:

 

The light shimmers on the sea;

The clouds burn red and disappear forever

 

Therefore, let us greet

The sunset in reverent wonder,

And become the colors we are given

In lieu of the words, we cannot say,

Turning gold and scarlet, too

 With the last of all beauties

We may ever behold.

 

Let us, in fulfillment of our universe,

Put away what eludes our ability to know

 

 And take in only the images

That we have felt and shared,

Even before there was a sea

And a sun to set upon it.