Philosophers, writers, and poets alike

tend to view sunsets as endings

You see them often

signaling the denouement

the resolution of the story

Beautiful voices sing melodies with\

a dissonant end about them

But I see sunsets as a beginning

the start of a story

For the sea beckoned with every wave

Her very breath a near whimper of longing

for her distant lover, the sun

She lapped at the sands each day

counting out the hours

in a well known rhythm old as time

Her mood varied like the tide

sometimes calm, gently wiling away the time

serene and peaceful, soft silken caresses

of her waves upon the sandy shores

of her own heart

Other times she let the currents run wild

Their chaos of thought anything but secure

churning her once placid waters

into a maelstrom of dangerous, darkening waves

bashing and terrorizing the shoreline

eroding it, reshaping reality

to its own twisted patterns

Her undercurrents aren't always patient, the sea

Her lover shines so bright

bestowing love and warmth on everything

and everyone she sees

To gaze upon her is to risk being nearly blinded

by her brilliant beauty

But she is as steadfast and constant as the sea

keeping to a rhythm all her own

Each morning, she rises from her lovers' embrace

and begins her day

a long journey to spread her light over the world

Her energy freely given to all in need

Reaching her crescendo at the apex of the day

her fire burning hotter than at any other time

scorchingly passionate in her lust for life

in her quest for peace

Her energy, spread so thin, begins to wan

The heat and light pouring forth from every pore

decreasing in intensity as the hours pass

A new fire burns within her heart

as she at least casts her gaze once more

upon her lover, the sea

Slowly she descents, allowing herself

to soften, to melt

into the waiting arms of the sea

Her strength, her solace

Her rejuvenation

The sea ripples with pleasure

Light and fire reflecting and refracting

on the waves

as they softly caress the shore

At long last, at each days' end

The lovers meet

They join in a timeless embrace

losing themselves in each other

for a time

Entwined, as one, for this time

this end of another day

in this time

their beginning

And so, the sea envelops the sun

and holds her safe each night

letting her rest and recharge

for the next days' journey

And it all begins with a sunset.