Sunset to Freedom

I dedicate Sunset to Freedom to my Pop James W Orum 1933-1982, in Loving memory.

Since I was a little girl the sunset was the most beautiful time of the day. I was amazed at all the different colors and every day the colors would change. It was like waiting for a fiesta in the sky. I truly believed that the sun went to sleep in a secret place in my mountains in Shadow Hills. It always made me feel free within myself for I too had lots of hiding places in the mountains of the shadows. That is why the sunset is deep within my heart. The sun is setting in a magnificent blaze of bluish- purple as it sinks behind the horizon. Just as it reaches the end of its journey a kaleidoscope of purplish pinks glories the sky. It truly is a lustrous sight to watch. The mountains are a flame in yellowish orange and the sun is gone. A falling star lights the sky with silent radiance. I gaze up at the splendor of the heavens, it’s breathtaking. It fills my soul with such ecstasy. I felt that I was given a sacred rite to behold such a vista. The sky is blazing with hope for tomorrow after the ceremony that is performed every day at the at the twilight hours the train comes a calling. The iron wheels rolling over the tracks has a melodic sound but when the whistle blows long and shrill it pierces the stillness of the night. The lonesome sound of the train brings the Whippoorwills alive to sing in sweet melody. The nocturnal sound is hauntingly beautiful. The train brings a bouquet of hopes and dreams that I believed had been long forgotten. Yet the echoes of time rush into the present giving hope for the fulfillment of freedom. For a brief moment in time I ride the freedom train back to the sunset in the shadow of my mountain. I have come home at last. The hardships of life test the true simplicity of love. I look deep within your eyes and know that I belong in the present to walk beside you for you are my world now. Yet every night I ride the train back to the sunset if only for a brief moment.