Sunset

Sunset

What thought do you give to a setting sun,

Life’s fire fading,

To allow the creep of darkness,

And unsure vision once more.

What promise have you of morning,

Save the mechanics of the unrelenting universe,

A stately march irrevocable,

Unguided by the hand of man.

Are you so trusting then,

In things that have always been,

That there is no monstrous will,

Capricious and unknowable,

That will not stay this range,

This hurtling progress,

That reaches nowhere,

That is everywhere?

Too often have we stumbled upon the unknown,

Surprised of our ignorance,

Finding ourselves more lost than ever

In the growing expanse.

Yet ever do we forge forth,

With prejudiced purpose,

Confident in knowledge mistaken,

Unproven and disassembled in discovery,

And having fallen,

Get up once more,

Certain of our capacity.

Still, the sun sets on our puny toys,

So destructive, yet the source of our pride,

As we careen through a vastness,

We long to understand,

But perhaps kept from us,

Children that we are.

We have seen the sun set…

How will we know that it is not for the last time?

Do we know anything?

Cliff Lake 3/30/2024

CliffSongs