Sunset Love

DEDICATED WITH LOVE TO A DEAR DEAR FRIEND, S.
THE SUN IS STILL SHINING ON YOU, WISH YOU GREAT HAPPINESS, FOREVER AND EVER.


Sometimes love comes to you in your sunrise years. In the dawn of youth. It’s a wonderful feeling. You bask in its early morning warmth. Then the heat rises and passion takes over. You sizzle in the afternoon Sun of love with a burning desire. And fan its flames with the sultry winds of the day. And for some, the flame grows, casting its bright light on all others, blinding others as it grows to encompass all that comes within its reach. And then it’s evening and there is a cooling down, a simmering flame that now needs to be tended with care protecting it from the evening gusts that could well blow the flame out completely.
Sometimes love comes to you in your sunrise years. Sometimes it stays with you, growing, glowing in the warmth of the day and into the sunset years changing from the warmth to the heat to the sizzle to the burn to the simmering flame till your very end.
Sometimes love in your sunrise years does not last. It sets with the evening Sun. And you can see it dipping down below the horizon. You plead, you beg for it to stay but as inevitable as the setting Sun you see the last arc of it disappear down the West.
Sometime the sunrise years don’t bring any love. Or if they do, you don’t recognize it in the blazing light of the day. Perhaps you are blinded by youth. By arrogance. By beauty. By naivete. By foolishness. By intelligence. By love itself. There are so many reasons. Perhaps you are restricted by some dark spots in the Sun. Sometimes where there should be light, there are shadows. And in that fragile moment, in the glorious sunshine of youth, love passes you by, and when you realize it, it’s too late.
But sometimes love waits. Till you’re done. Waits till the day is done. And the Sun is on its way down. Dipping down into the horizon. Casting a reddish pink glow in the sky. The kind that lovers sit on embankments by the sea watching wordlessly hand in hand. The kind that brings a smile on your face. The kind that creates a kind of hush all over the world.
There it is, standing in the dark street corner that you’ve always avoided. In those shadows that you’ve not noticed. In those nooks and crannies that you’ve forgotten to dust. In those crevices of your mind that you’ve chosen to ignore. In those memories, like old photographs that are so faded you don’t even want to try and make out the shapes anymore.
From there emerges love. Not on horseback. Not with great fanfare. Not with great guns blazing. Or a triumphant trumpet call.
But a quiet, gentle stepping out of the shadows. A light tap on the shoulder. A fragrant zephyr that tenderly plays with your hair. A butterfly kiss on your cheek.
And before you know it love encompasses you like the soft rays of the evening Sun. Bathing you in the rosy light of the evening glow. Like a Sun that has lost its fury but not its passion. A Sun that does not blaze but glows. A Sun that does not burn but shines.
And it’s that glow that will take you into the twilight. Into your twilight years. A gentle flame that warms the heart, bringing you the joy that you thought your sunrise years lost out on. And you walk confidently into the darkening sunset knowing that this flame will take you into the deepest, darkest night with a light that will shine on in your heart for as long as you live.
It’s sunset love.