Sunset over the beach

I drove out to the beach  
to watch the day  
enter;
to watch the day  
leave  
 
The air around me  
was still chilled,  
the world quiet  
save for the  
haunting sound  
of the ocean, alone.  
 
The sand crunched under my  
feet, and the dark sky
hinted that  
yesterday’s promise  
of tomorrow  
was fulfilled.  
 
I sat far enough from the  
tide line to get a wet butt  
but not close enough for  
the waves to touch my toes.  
 
The sky lightened  
and as gently as  
a released breath  
near a candle,  
the palette of  
new days  
seeped into the sky  
 
timid brush strokes  
at first,  
then bold magentas  
fading into burnt oranges  
and a strangely flaming blue  
as the sun poked  
its bald head  
over the horizon.  
 
And all at once it was a new day.  
 
All at once, the world was  
illuminated again,  
the shadows on my  
face were behind me  
and I squinted  
against
the same sky  
I'd watched with  
dilated eyes.
 
I stayed the day,  
to watch the sunset,  
to see if it closed  
with the same grandeur  
as it opened.  
 
Chills crept up the  
back of my neck  
like spindly fingers  
in a dark room
as dusk settled  
 
color seeped from  
the world slowly  
turning the waves  
into silver-tipped  
ghosts, that  
softly roared  
memories,  
and brought  
forth  
gray.  
 
The sun rose in the same spot,  
and brought hope,  
but I watched the sunset  
over the beach
from the east coast  
and my eyes  
searched  
the darkness  
for any  
sense of  
purpose.  
 
I watched the sunset  
over the beach
while facing east  
and found little  
waiting for me  
save  
the  
night.