"Riverside Sunset" a poem by Miranda

Yesterday, for my reading series of poems from the public domain, I shared George Marion McClellan’s beautiful and intimate love poem “In the Heart of a Rose.” I promised y’all more love poems this week leading into Valentine’s Day on Friday, so here’s an original.

I wrote this poem on June 6, 2006. I can tell you the exact date because I wrote it after my first date with my wife. We spent the afternoon strolling around Philbrook Museum of Art together, grabbed coffee at Shades of Brown (one the coffee shops we miss most after moving away from Tulsa), and walked along the Arkansas River while the sun was setting. Later that evening, I went to her apartment and read her some of my favorite poems, including “Persimmons” by Li-Young Lee.

I held onto this poem for the next few months without telling her about it. Then on October 13, 2006, I drove her from Tulsa to Table Rock Lake near Branson, MO. I took the back roads, so we could enjoy the fall color changes in the forests of the Ozark region. We rented a canoe at the lake, paddled across the lake, and landed on a rocky shoreline. I read her this poem and then knelt down and asked her to marry me. Soon, we’ll be celebrating our 18th anniversary.

The poem is below, followed by my video reading.

💜Miranda📚

The sunset reminds meof her eyes—watching me.The sky is swirling hues of God’sfavorite colors.

I hope—wantingto read her thoughtsas they duck to hidebehind her clouds.

The river reflects the skylike her glasses reflectall things not as lovely asShe.

And, as the orange glow fades,leaving lavender to violet above,her eyes stayin my dreams tonight.