Norwegian Sunset

by John Stocks

This is no ordinary sunset,
The languid lapping of oars on ocean,
On a blood-red fjord, close to midnight.
An audacious plundering of heaven,
Or crystal memory, plucked from childhood.

This is no ordinary sunset,
Drawing blood from our internal tides,
Flashing daggers across the water,
Stilling birdsong and laying down the wind.

This is no ordinary sunset,
It is half dream, half incantation,
And with the divine conjuring of the aurora,
It will call me back;
As the moon draws water.