Sunrise

A Poem About Sunrises On the Ocean

Sailing westbound around the world, in the morning hours — on the 4–8 am shift, I often watch the rising of the sun behind me, as the waves rise and fall — and with them the horizon, delayed, ever so slightly, by the western speed of our boat, as if we could almost outrun it with our 5–7 knots.

In the morning light, as sunrise approaches, one has many moments to reflect and consider its majesty as well as the theater of the sky and sea, players who act in sync with its rise.

An army of clouds await the rising sun An army dispersed, to and fro Some near the horizon, some in the heavens All hoping to block the sun’s arrival All hoping in vain For the sun doth rise, nonetheless And its rise exacting wonder Bringing warmth and life to all it touches (and burns to those of us who lack the proper pigmentation)

As the sunrise approaches, the clouds double-down and start to coalesce As if their consolidation will scare the sun away But, alas, tis’ fruitless to think thus And fruitless to stop the sun from rising On the horizon it has arrived, a golden piercing fire beneath the clouds and highlighted in their fringes as if encapsulating them and making them part of its opening act but make no mistake — the sun remains the star of the show.

© Matt Ray 2020

I sailed around the world by crewing on sailboats from 2016 to 2019. I call it Global HitchHiking. I started writing this poem in the middle of the Indian Ocean crossing in 2018, as sunrise after sunrise overwhelmed me and reminded me of players in a grand play. To read more of my adventure, here are a few of my articles. Also, I’d love it if you followed me on social media.