The Sunset Collection (All Six Parts)

     This six-part collection of poetry tells a story based on two characters in the book series I'm writing. One dies, and each poem describes one of the five stages of grief the other encounters. The five stages of grief do exist, and I did a little research before writing this. The first one is before she dies.

The Sunset

I watch the sunset

Its beauty stealing my breath

Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings

Leaving a little hope for the ones who seek it

The ones who succumb to the darkness

The ones craving warmth and beauty

The warmth and beauty they lost to the sorrow

We drown in this sea of pain and grief

The sunlight from the surface taunting us 

Like a distant light you can reach for but never touch

A light we hope we will one day hold in our hands

You swim to the surface

Only to sink to the depths of the ocean

The sunset a place you hold dear in your mind

A way to escape reality

A way to tell yourself

“It’s gonna be okay,”

A way to hold onto hope

With these broken hands

Bloody and beaten

I take a step towards the light

My face aglow

This light

This warmth

This beauty

This hope

This is why we search for our sunset

The Sunset: Part Two - Denial

I return to watch the sunset

On yet another day

Its beauty stealing my breath

Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings

Leaving a little hope for the ones who seek it

The ones who succumb to the darkness

The ones craving warmth and beauty

The warmth and beauty they lost to the sorrow

But I don’t need hope

Because she’s still here

And I’m okay

As the light fades

It leaves pain that I try to push aside and forget

Convincing myself

She’s still here

But I’m alone

Cowering beside her corpse

At the feet of darkness

I was searching for that light

I could reach for but never touch

Until the shining light

The hope I held in my hands

Scorched my soul

Blackening it with memories

I tell myself never happened

She’s still here

I won’t let her go

How do I let go 

Of someone who was my world?

How do I move on 

From something that I can’t stop denying?

I can’t believe this abstruse truth

Luna was everything

She was my sunset

But now

She’s the sister

Who

              I 

                    Loved

Who 

              I 

                    Lost.

The Sunset: Part Three - Anger

I watch the sunset

Its beauty stealing my breath

Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings

Leaving a little hope for the ones who seek it

The ones who succumb to the darkness

The ones craving warmth and beauty

The warmth and beauty they lost to the sorrow

She’s gone

I don’t wanna believe it

But deep down
I’ve always known

I lost what I needed most

The affliction I face

Would’ve never happened

If this lurid girl

Hadn’t taken her from me

Now all I have left

Is the sunset we used to watch together

What did she do to deserve this brutality?

My beloved sister

Was my sunset

And now her light has faded

But I will rise

I will find this girl

I will do what it takes

To avenge my sister

For Luna

I will find her

I will give her the vengeance she deserves

For you, Luna

For you.

The Sunset: Part Four - Confiding

We watch the sunset

Its beauty stealing our breath

Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings

Leaving a little hope for us

We’ve succumbed to the darkness

Craving warmth and beauty

The warmth and beauty we lost to our struggles

We’re talking

As the question I’ve been avoiding arises

“Where’s Luna?”

The words are jumbled in my mind

A mix of chaos and grief

It all spills out of my mouth

As the tears begin to fall

The words flowing like a river

I see the pain in his face

As I hug him tight

“It’ll be okay, she’s happier now,”

He promises

It’s almost a relief

To be understood

To share the same pain

To lose the same sunset

To lose the same sister

And for a heartbeat

Everything almost feels okay again.

The Sunset: Part Five - Depression

I watch the sunset

Its beauty stealing my breath

Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings

Leaving a little hope in my life

Because I’ve succumbed to the darkness

Craving warmth and beauty

The warmth and beauty I lost to the sorrow

I still remember

Her last sunset

As she begged for me

To flee to safety

It haunts me

Like a ghost I can never expunge

I see her face in every passing stranger

As a spark of hope ignites and dies

Knowing she’s gone

Wishing she was still here

Now she’s in the stars

As I watch the sunset

Her ghost by my side

Its beauty stealing my breath

Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings

Leaving a little hope in my life

Because I’ve succumbed to the darkness

Craving the warmth and beauty

I lost to the grief

Of her death.

The Sunset: Part Six - Acceptance

I watch the sunset

Its beauty stealing my breath

Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings

Leaving a little hope for the ones who seek it

The ones who succumb to the darkness

The ones craving warmth and beauty

The warmth and beauty they lost to the sorrow

She’s never coming back

I’ve had to face the harsh truth with certitude

No matter what I do

I’ll never see her again

The sunset is all I have

Of my beloved sister

Every evening

Is a reminder

Of how much she loved me

How hard she tried

How much she’d do

To see me happy

Her ghost will forever haunt my soul

There will always be a part of me

A fragment of my heart

Yearning to be healed

By her presence

I watch the sunset

As a new light dawns on me

Leaving an orange glow on its surroundings

Leaving hope of a better life

After everything I’ve been through

I will no longer succumb to the darkness of sorrow

I will take this light

This warmth

This beauty

This hope

And I will thrive

I will continue

I will rise

I will love

I will do everything

She wanted me to achieve

For you, Luna

For you.

-Lucy