Spectrum of Beauty

Spectrum of Beauty

Oh setting sun
the horizon has come
Now shine bright
on this eve of night
With orange and red
send children to bed
May your radiant pink
make grown men think
The brilliance of your daily demise
like a spark ignites the age old skies
Every western cloud shares the splendor
while the ocean echoes the ripening cinder
Then a royal purple is the last we see
as another sunset becomes history
Now the first stars twinkle in the deepening sky
and I praise God for beauty and wonder… “why?”

Discussion

This poem was written on the same beach trip as Moving Air, likely on the same day. While Moving Air is about the ocean and the wind, Spectrum of Beauty is about the sunset. The ocean provides a fantastic setting for the setting sun, granting its audience a full view of the horizon, less obstructed by natural or manmade obstacles. The reflected spectrum of sunset colors on the ocean water drove me to reflect on its beauty. One of the key concepts this poem captures is that sunsets are a beauty that appeals equally to all ages. One of the most enchanting aspects of sunset is that every color is ephemeral, lasting only a moment, with the entire palette of colors that comprise the sunset in a state of constant change. Similar to the ocean waves, this eternally repeating act of nature is both monolithic in its grandeur and timelessness as well as fleeting in its constant state of change and infinite variety. While change in our lives is often a disruptive and negative concept, sunsets and sunrises show us that some systems yield the most beauty during those times of transition.