“I just ran from work to say good bye to the man in the sky, and say thank you.”
“Where do you suppose it goes now?”
“Perhaps, somewhere else in the world where others can enjoy it.”
And from over the dunes and down the shoreline they appear, with one sole intention – to bid farewell to the day and watch the sun disappear into where the sky meets the sea, where the division between land and air evaporates into one.
Children scamper in and out of the wake, couples stroll hand in hand, man’s best friend takes in an evening romp, seasoned souls set up their chairs, uncork a merlot and toast to the brilliance of it all.
The closing of the day.
Maybe it was grand, maybe it was dreadful, maybe you believe it will get better, maybe you just want to forget it all and dream of better times. And then right before your nature takes hold and you let go; handing it over to something larger than yourself. All you see, all you let seep into your brain is this grand creation of wonder. It lowers and lowers and then ever so gracefully it slips down and vanishes. And then as if to say, “Don’t go – I’m not finished, the afterglow of its magnificence fills the sky and creates a canvas of light and colour. You are mesmerized and anything that seemed important; melts into oblivion.
You breathe.
And then in the distance someone comes forward and makes the moment official – the ringing of the bell.
The afterglow subsides and one by one they traipse back over the dunes and down the shore. Wine is recorked, chairs collapse and blankets are folded.
Darkness transcends. The day is done – tomorrow becomes a possibility.
May however it turned out; may we give thanks for what we received and for what we learned – even perhaps for what we want to forget. May it all have been worthwhile. May all closings mark the time of new beginnings.
Photos By: Sharon Cooke, Pass A Grille Florida 2011