Sundown

The sun drops down behind the hill;
The air turns cold with water chill;
The white wolf howls and gnaws his bone;
I sit within my cave, alone.

Fire gives warmth to a tired frame
While shadows dance from a crackling flame
And I think of days and years gone by,
Amazed at how the time can fly.

Of friends and I on open plains,
Running through the summer rains,
Of sitting by a gentle brook
In a quiet, shaded nook;

The smell of air so fresh I cried
Tears of joy, a wondrous tide
Which fell into a laughing stream
And were carried to the ocean clean;

I leapt upon the highest peak,
I caught my breath, could not speak,
More than gold was the sight worth,
For there before me lay the earth;

Oh, it was awesome to behold
With valleys deep and rivers bold,
The mountain’s faded purple hue
Framed against the baby blue.

A yellow sun hung in the sky;
The echo of the eagle’s cry,
The wild beauty of that day,
Was far beyond what words can say;

And as the days of youth march on
Within my mind, the pain is gone;
My memories are golden still
As sol drops down behind the hill.