Rhododendron Sunset, a favorite sunset painting of mine by Mary Benson, a North Carolina artist. You can buy prints right here.
Original Sunset Poems
I’ve put together a small collection of my favorite sunset poems. They mark the end of day, that sinking of our great star into nighttime. With some famous poets’ contributions, this list is a short collection of my originals.
They were all written while watching, or pondering, that great evolution of daytime to dusk to night. I think sunsets are one of the most magical of breathtaking natural phenomena, and I don’t think they’re metaphysically insignificant. Please share these sunset poems with your adventurous, outdoorsy, sunset-loving, all-day-hiking friends & family.
I’m always writing, and will continue to update this list as I write more.
Enjoy!
(and let me know your favorite in the comments)
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1.
The sunset stole the wind
her breath seemed quite dull
beneath the oranges and pinks and yellows
of an evening in mountainous fall.
I thought nothing of her cold kisses
on my all-day-hiking cheeks
the sun was setting quickly
and painting her forever reverent peaks.
2.
Sunset in the city
children and mothers at home
packing lunches
but we who adore Creation
pack little lakeshores in happy
smiling bunches.
3.
Owl came to watch sunset
she had the finest view
a few hoots and head turns
onto her favorite perch she flew
she watches it each night
like we watch screens and shows
people perched in their routines
but the finest things, Owl knows
4.
Sunset snowflake seasons
they come and go without much ease
the winter wind whips tonight
a blustery Virginia breeze
and there they dance
a unique and glorious shower
snowflakes running errands
late for evening’s finest hour.
5.
The sun took his descent
and the flowers bowed away
they tucked their petals close
in that same
splendid shutting
the end of every summer day.
6.
My boots resting
my toes stretching
the sun setting
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
7.
I think sunsets
are books
in the sky.
8.
Boy it sure is chilly
tonight under Autumn’s gaze
and the sun is setting quickly
like an evening
pumpkin blaze.
A sloop of amber slips away
Upon an ether sea,
And wrecks in peace a purple tar,
The son of ecstasy.
9.
Sunsets
two days after a storm
over the lake
beneath the clouds
surely heaven-sent
and I stay staring
much longer than I meant
10.
Sunsets remind me
of our insignificance
they’re too immense
and lovely
for our mortality to mean much
no offense
but then the sunrise!
and all over I’m eager again
for our little mortal happenings
and to see the day’s pretty end.
Sunset at Lake Johnson Park in Raleigh, North Carolina on August 16, 2023. Can you find some of the poems I wrote that evening in this collection?
11.
Sunset is Creation’s crescendo
building and building
to the pinnacle of awe
Grey clouds lit purple and pink
golden light without flaw
and the sea foam champagne
I toast the sea and all her wonder
every perfect oil canvas
a seaside sunset puts asunder
12.
Sunset on Vieques
in the rocks and mangroves we stir
fiddling in our shells
distant blenders purr
And the hum of Esperanza
hasn’t yet climbed its throne
the sun it setting now
and over the Caribbean
it never sets alone
A photo sent by my dad of sunset in Charleston, SC from a boat. 3/5/23.
Where was the best sunset you ever saw? The beach? The mountains? Each time I see a magnificent sunset, I crown it better than the last. As I continue to wander into mountains and along the ocean, I’ll update this list with more thoughts, reflections, and poems.
Thanks for reading!
