If death were a sunset,
And its homecoming a vessel on the sea
It would rise and descend each day,
Carrying the vessel’s passengers with it each evening.
For those gifted souls have ended their voyage on this
Earth and have been granted the greatest reward of all.
But only when our mission is done do we get
Called back home.
We miss those dear to us, it’s true, and don’t
Always agree when it’s time to call, yet there is this
Undeniable bear of relief
that our era is over and it’s someone else’s turn:
That we may no longer carry the burden,
And may now rest.
For when the sun sets,
A page turns
And a new day begins.


(EXTENSION)
If death were a sunset,
And a vessel were sailing towards the horizon line
So that it may meet the sun at the edge of the earth
And dive off the side—
Only to cast anchor peacefully in the Kingdom of Rest
Today, I would watch this happen,
And the sun sink below the ocean—
I turn, smile, and walk back down the pier.
For today, if death were a sunset,
I stand along the shoreline,
Not quite yet ready to set sail.