Sunset

by Alicia Tai

​I used to love watching the sun set
Beyond the darkening towers
An ethereal plane,
That seemed to contain
Only seconds, feeling like hours

Our love used to be like a sunset
Unique, yet all the same
Depends on the view,
And mine was of blue,
Set upon the skies of flame.

I was empty, a clear white canvas
The sky at the break of day
Until he appeared,
With paintbrushes smeared,
My very own Claude Monet

I was content when I was with him
Every day was like a dream
With his twilight eyes,
I was hypnotized,
Though the sun had caused the gleam

But the world can be brutal and cruel
And the world can be unfair
Nothing is free,
So neither was he,
Of that, I was unaware

I knew it was too good to be true,
I knew it, yet I believed
Misery was fiction,
Love had no restriction,
At the end, I was deceived
​
Our love used to be like a sunset
Dashed with red and orange and gold
But behind the facade,
Was a love that was flawed,
After nightfall, the day grows old.

He painted the sunset in my soul,
Etched it into my mind
The sky and the space,
Remnants of his face,
God, I wish I was blind.

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Writer's comment: I was inspired to write this poem because of a picture that I saw that was painted by Claude Monet, pictured above. It’s called San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk, and I was really moved by it. Since I am a hopeless romantic, I decided to put a sad spin on the sunset. I remember I was talking to my friend before this poem about how sunsets were so beautiful and revered despite it being a daily event, and so I wrote that line about how sunsets are all unique, yet all the same. The rest of the poem came to me naturally as I was looking at the beautiful painting.

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​Alicia Tai is a 19 year old student studying English at UBC. She is very passionate about all things art, may it be music, language, or visual. She also reads a lot, and wishes to obtain a library just like Belle in Beauty in the Beast. Her favourite genre is fiction, and she hopes to one day be able to publish a novel of her own, inspiring others to pursue their imagination. She has put careful time and effort into these pieces, and hopes you enjoy them all!