I had no eyes
until I saw the sun set

with a smile percolating
through golden leaves and
into me.

This same evening long ago
taught me how not to worry

of grand shadows huddled
impatiently at every corner

for they too withdraw
into periphery like all else

if you let them follow you
into the darkness.

The day is cold and calm,
kissing at my cheeks and ears,
staining me pink
and offering quiet advice–
I listen to it,
pay attention
to the tiny cardinal steps
in the tall snow
as the sun sets
and the faraway trees become orange mountains,
as the straight-up branches of a naked pear tree
point to God,
and I know that I am changing again.

A new morning,
At the death of an old week.
Skeleton trees reach their bony arms,
Into the see of rose gold clouds above.

Faint chimney smoke,
From a distant home.
A family who wakes,
And won't see the sky,
In the same way I do.

They will return to their beds,
In the soft clutch of tonight.
And won't stare out the window,
Into the twilight curl,
Of stars and branches weaved.

I would turn my body into a sunset, if I could [Brooke]
I would [Louis] paint my very soul [Louis] across a desert sky
And when I had gone
When I had faded from this world [Emily] completely [Emily]
I would leave a moonless sky in my wake
Then you could look upon it [Shelby]
And know how much I love you
My love could be written [Julianna] out in constellations,
Like all the myths of the ancient world
I would tell you [Scarlett] how much I love you [Scarlett] , if I could
But alas, it is no small or simple thing
[But alas, it is no small or simple thing]

I really do dream,
just a wishful day,
picnic baskets.
smelling like cooked chicken
Our children take in
all the yummy delights
fill tiny little bellies
as the sun downs to the moon.
The spectacle of the night.
the bringing of bright stars,
Overwhelming are the children
Falling asleep in the barn's hay

We sit by the shore,
The sky softly burns with hues of amber
You gaze at the horizon,
I gaze at you,
And between us, the wind carries silence.

“The sunset is beautiful, isn’t it?” I ask softly
You smile,
Hiding the ache at the edge of your lips
“Yes,” you finally reply.

“But like all beautiful things, it, too, must come to an end.”
You fall silent,
Yet your eyes said it all
I know you understand,
This isn’t just about the sunset,
But about us,
Slowly fading, like the sun descending into its rest.

“My part here is done,”
I murmured to the wind,
Hoping it would carry away my words
“My role ends now,”
You turned to me, your face searching for answers,
But neither of us spoke,
Because deep down, we both knew—
This was the final chapter.

The sky darkened,
And I stood,
My feet heavy, but my heart heavier
I knew we couldn’t hold onto the sunset forever.

“I have to go,” I say softly
You don’t stop me, you only nod gently
And as the sun finally disappears
I walk away,
Leaving you beneath the shadow of the night.

The sunset smeared itself across the sky,
a crime scene of color—
red bleeding into orange,
violets bruising the edges.
I stood there, guilty of wanting to call you,
to say,
"Do you see this too? Do you feel it?
Or has the world stopped being beautiful for you
since I became the ghost you refuse to name?"

For a moment,
the colors burned so bright
I almost forgot the sound of your silence—
the way you folded your love into sharp corners,
how you rewrote me as the villain in a story
we never agreed to tell.

Almost.

But then the shadows stretched long,
like they always do,
and I remembered how you used to say
the sky looked like an apology before it turned black.
I laughed, because tonight it did—
looked like you.
A burst of brightness trying to outrun the dark,
fading before it ever stood a chance.

I almost forgot you hate me.
Almost forgave you for it, too.
But sunsets only linger for a breath,
and some things—
like your name in my mouth—
are harder to let go of
than light.