Desert Sunsets

I miss the sunsets most of all.
I close my eyes,
shutting out the chaos around me.




In a few moments,
after the darkness settles,
my breathing slows
and I begin to escape
into thoughts
and sights
so spectacular,
so sensual
it is almost beyond words.
Brilliant reds and oranges,
afire with streaks of fiery yellow.

The framework of the sky
is rich and vivid blue
and overhead, this sky becomes
a deep velvety blue,
opulent with the first hint of stars
like diamonds strewn across
the darkening sky.

The luminous lights fall
across the mesas
and take on a deeper hue
as the sandstone absorbs
the rich colors of the setting sun.
In the shadows of the mesas
and the weathered spires
of the desert’s time worn cathedral
are soft shades of the coming night,

the greys and dusty blues
and the deep purple of royalty,
mingled in the low canyons
like the cast off robes of kings
of this desert kingdom,
and the darker colors come
creeping slowly up the sides of the hills
as if chasing and devouring
the scarlets

and turning the fiery colors

into the soft pastels

of the desert southwest.

The colors gradually take leave,
moving to the other side of the earth,
and night falls in my mind’s eye,
just as it does in my beloved New Mexico.
Now there is serenity in my heart.
I know I’ll be there when the time is right,
and when I am,
no longer will I need
to close my eyes
to see my sunsets.
I will live them
everyday,
eyes wide open,
and heart at peace.