[Poetry] Sunset

Dedicated to C - I hope I made you comfortable. Thank you for your company and invaluable gift.

--

a nightingale knows best.

her call comes forth

as the daylight dwindles,

and, listen…i hear her now.

i follow her tune

guiding me to you

she chirps warmly for you

you are her favorite, she twitters,

just, lately, a little more quiet.

the rests in her score

carry a purposeful fermata.

the unsung is more telling

than her notes themselves.

as i gaze upon you,

you look straight through me.

gloves and gown further separate

our connection.

i see an experienced face

sunken in from your fight.

your prominent cheekbones

underline heavy yellowed eyes

which never seem to blink.

how i ask and beg you

to close them amid your gasps

neither i nor the nightingale can quell.

only time, that precious constant,

will resolve them.

still i talk to you

although uncertain what to say.

knowing you could not turn your head,

through held-back tears

i describe the sunset

the vivid pink and flaming orange

against a baby blue sky speckled with clouds

as the sun descends.

the beauty of nature’s colorful masterpiece

is reflected in your presence - an ember’s glow

which now fades into silence.

i hope you leave knowing you were loved

by the world around you

and that your sunset illuminates 
my horizon.