"Riverside Sunset" a poem by Miranda

An original poem by Miranda

Intro

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📚

Riverside Sunset

for Carolyn

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

I hope—wanting
to read her thoughts
as they duck to hide
behind her clouds.

The river reflects the sky
like her glasses reflect
all things not as lovely as
She.

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

My Reading