These Sunsets



Wave goodbye and wish me well
for roads yet conquered lie ahead
pockmarked, marred by concrete swells
touched by souls alive and dead
their footsteps washed by sands so fine,
but not mine.

Streets split to form two separate paths
one light, one dark in fading light
both grasped by time and its aftermath
and weeds that tangle, creak, and fight
as roots and glowing ghosts collide,
on the other side.

A barrier of molten gold
put up by no one said or known
that waxes, wanes with tales untold
its peak worn down by winds once blown
while voices hiss of pain and loss,
and walls to cross.

I take a step toward lands unseen
the future fire in my hair
gasping in their darkened sheen
my throat closed tight, devoid of air
when an alley appears with no signs to stake it,
so I take it.

The moon shines angel white above
pure as need and innocence
with eyes that witness earthly love
rays gently stroking a picket fence
awaiting me in fields of clover,
to be leapt over.

I lift my leg and skirt the gate
my fingers grazing chipped blue paint
not hindered by the hand of fate
though cautiously, or else I faint
I lie down in the dewy grass,
and sassafras.

Tomorrow dawns a crystal day
my options spread like blades of green
each promising as empty trays
in wait behind a silver screen
but laughter hits me, the greatest prize
and these sunsets pale
beside this sunrise.
Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 01, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:16 min read
6

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXABB XCXCDD EFEFGG HIHIJJ KXKXLL MNMNOO XHXHPXP
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,321
Words 254
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7

Joelle Nanula

Hey guys!My name is Joelle, and I am an eighth-grader living in Southern California. I have multiple interests, including music, linguistics, and writing, but poetry is by far my favorite. I have been frustrated for a long time by my inability to achieve anything in the poetry realm; I'm one of those teens that has a billion goals but doesn't have the work ethic to reach them; so I'm hoping some of my poems will be found here. As for my flaws, I'm terrible at sports, math is my abhorrence, and I wouldn't be able to tell Japan from Africa on a map. (Aka, I'm horrific at geography and navigation.) Thanks so much for reading! Love ya! Also, if Nick Jonas ever reads this, you're the coolest and most self-actualized person on Earth!Notes About My Poetry:1. "Traces" and "Wandering Hearts" are by far the best poems in my collection thingy, so read 'em!2. There are a bunch of short, meaningless poems here too, so skip past them until you reach the good ones.3. I did take some leaps in posting my more private poems here. Please be sensitive.4. "Always a Choice" is dedicated to all the girls out there who are feeling insecure, or have daunting things going on in their lives right now. I know a couple of people who inspired this poem, and I hope they will understand its meaning and find the courage to carry on.5. I am going to be frequently updating this page, but since only fifteen poems can remain here at a time, I have chosen "Always a Choice," "These Sunsets," "One Memory," "Girl With The Blue Barrette," "Traces," "Wandering Hearts," "What Is Life?," "Forces Within," "The Test of Time," "Snapshots," and "Another's Skin" to be my eleven permanent poems. Therefore, the other four will always be rotating. Gracias!New Additions: - "One," which recently replaced "Flying Away," is about the deep, spiritual way in which every living creature is connected, no matter how removed from one another we may seem.- "Like Starfall" makes absolutely zero sense; don't worry, I'm not dumb. It's just an outpouring of thoughts, and mostly, the emotion you get when sitting alone under the stars and breathing in the clear, cool, delicious air, and you feel like your stomach is flying, and you almost start to cry a little bit because the night is so unnaturally beautiful. You know what I'm saying? Yeah I know, it's a totally weird poem. I'm not gonna leave it up here for very long.- "The Painter" is sort of a deep-ish poem about how, even when rejected by the rest of the world, a person can be happy. Such is the case with the painter, who is ultimately either very old or mentally impaired, but is still content to sit in his yard and paint despite what others think. more…

All Joelle Nanula poems | Joelle Nanula Books

0 fans

Discuss the poem These Sunsets with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "These Sunsets" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/88437/these-sunsets>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    19
    hours
    4
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "O Captain! My Captain!"?
    A Walt Whitman
    B Emily Dickinson
    C Samuel Taylor Coleridge
    D Ezra Pound