A Setting Sun by Arlene Ang

A Setting Sun

by ARLENE ANG

like the restless

rearrangement of radio static,

precludes twilight:

it leans shadows across the room—

amputation camps,

war memorials, a lady bug

in mid-journey across

the torn cornea;

it is the child you met

in Cairo who—indirectly—

admitted food was scarce,

the women with hands cupped

towards prayer,

a Frankenstein of sorts;

and it sinks behind elm trees,

behind a mountain slope:

the weather report

would have it at 5:27 p.m.

This poem is an example of something simple like a sunset that has various meanings to different people. I enjoy how the first line of the poem feeds off of the title, "A Setting Sun". At first the poem describes where the rays of a setting sun would hit, then different experiences might one go through while the sun is setting. The sun is setting and although people might not realize it, there is a predicted time of day when the sun will set. I think the author is trying to convey the message that whereas science in terms of the sun setting can be predictable and set everyday at a certain time, life passes and the events of the day are not as consistent. The poem makes a person want to think about what he or she does everyday at the time the sun is setting. The sun will always cast a shadow, hit the mountain, and people all around the world might find that time to pray, but what are you as an individual doing? Then again, the last line of "would have it at 5:27p.m." can also give the idea of appreciating the sunset and realizing it is there day after day. If the time is known and available to everyone in each time zone, why aren't more people taking time during that hour to appreciate such a breathtaking event that only nature can give.