June 21, 2023
Sun Poem
Shouldn’t there be a ritual for the rising of the sun
each day
with candles lit and dancing,
hands upheld in welcome,
songs lifted in praise?
Watch how the sky prepares itself
swathed in azure and violet
how the trees await, limbs lifted
naked and unashamed.
The hilltop holds itself steady
as the first sliver of light appears
behind it and fog like the veils of a dancer
cloaks the water’s face
in preparation for welcome.
Shouldn’t there be a ritual for the rising of the sun
each day as it crests the horizon
in full glory, round and fat and fiery
billions of years of hot white light
a miracle
that blazes into our eyes
so that we turn away, as if it were
the face of God?
Now it ignites the fog
shimmering in pink, turns the dew
to flickering light, droplets of water
on trees into iridescent strings
of pearls, calls forth
the redbirds in
scarlet robes to sing
aubades.
Shouldn’t there be a ritual, each day,
for the rising of the sun, for the promise
of new beginnings, for the grace granted
for another chance? Shouldn’t we bow
before it, weep in humble gratitude
tremble at the power that grants
us faithful constancy, for the fact
that what could burn us instead
blesses?
(c) Rosemary McMahan
Photo credit: Rosemary McMahan
Spirit Reflections 
Thank you for honouring Brother Sun with your exquisite poetry. On this Solstice day, he hides behind rain clouds here in Vancouver but your words bring me to humble prayer in thanksgiving for what blesses me. Bless you, dear Rosemary for your gift to us.❤️🙏
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So lovely. I especially love the idea of the sky, trees, hilltop, water preparing for the rising of the sun. That reminds me that “waiting” is not passive.
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What a lovely poem, Rosemary. I think it was Robert Louis Stevenson who said, “The world is so full of a number of things, I think we should all be as happy as kings.” (I probably butchered the quote somewhat.) Your poem reminded me of that; there is so much to bow in gratitude for, and be happy about, each day, especially when “what could burn us instead blesses.”
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Thanks so much for your comment. Yes, it’s so easy to forget to see the miraculous in the ordinary!
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I appreciate that comment (and reminder), Nancy!
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