Poems About Sunset

Sunsets have long captivated hearts with their vivid colors and serene endings, offering a perfect blend of beauty and reflection. Whether it’s the fiery reds, soft pinks, or deep purples stretching across the sky, these moments of twilight are fleeting yet profound. They symbolize the close of one day and the promise of another, creating an ideal setting for poetic inspiration.

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In these sunset poems, you’ll find themes of peace, transition, and hope, as well as a deep connection to nature’s rhythms. Sunsets not only offer visual splendor but also evoke deep emotional responses. Poets have used sunsets to represent change, the passing of time, and even the promise of tomorrow.

As you explore these poems, let the colors of the sunset and the words of the poets bring you moments of quiet reflection and joy. From nature-inspired verses to deeper spiritual reflections, sunsets remind us that there is beauty and meaning in every ending.


By Catherine Pulsifer, Updated September 5, 2024

Nature Poems   /   Poems About Sunset



    Nature's Splendor at Sunset

    Experience the beauty and magnificence of nature as the sun sets, painting the sky with vibrant colors.


  1. Sunset
    Poet: Howard Carleton Tripp


    In the wondrous west on the ocean's breast
    Lies the sun upon the deep,
    While the fair light dies from the crimson skies
    As he slowly sinks to sleep;
    And the dreamy haze of his crimson blaze
    Goes out of the summer air;
    As over the clift my fancies drift
    To a clime without a care.

    He seemeth to shrink from the very brink
    Of the dim horizon's line,
    Out and away o'er the edge of day
    To a land that is divine.
    He gilded with beams of golden streams
    The mountains upon the right,
    And then old time with a love sublime
    Gave the world another night



  2. Sunset
    Poet: Prof. John D. M. Brown


    I saw the sun set golden on a hill
    With crimson streamers of the dying day
    Mid molten copper clouds, with many a ray
    And glowing shaft of dazzling light, and still
    The sunlight faded not, but seemed to fill
    The sky with splendor as if it would stay
    Forever beautiful nor pass away
    Except in glory and with dauntless will.

    I thought of souls who bravely journeyed on
    Beneath dull skies, beset by pain and strife,
    Without the light of gladsome sun to send
    Them strength, until, when every hope seemed gone,
    The clouds had melted into radiance, and life
    Appeared serene and splendid at the end.



  3. Sunset
    Poet: O. L. Linn


    The brilliant orb of day hangs in the west;
    The gold-fringed clouds in splendor cluster round,
    And touch with amber glow the earth's dark ground.
    The beaten paths and crumbling clods abound
    With colors rare, and everywhere is found
    Sol's benediction as he sinks to rest.

    All nature sovereign beauty now assumes;
    As nuggets fair the' gold-tinged pebble fills
    The splashing brooklets and the shining rills;
    And how the grandeur of the sun now thrills,
    As large and red it dips behind the hills,
    And fills the earth with mellow twilight glooms!

    Across the rosy west dim shadows steal.
    First timidly, forerunners of the night,
    They seem to struggle with the parting light;
    Then stretching forth in unexpected might
    They merge from out their darksome covert, night,
    Their sullen shroud more boldly to reveal

    Thus oft we watch night draw its sable pall
    Across the glory' of the western skies;
    And night enthroned we watch as daylight dies.
    The tops of ghostly pines, now towering high,
    Are swept to motion by the winds, and sigh
    As on its dismal throne night reigns o'er all.

    We think of that last eve, when ebbing: life
    (As fading twilight yields its charms to night,
    Extinguishing earth's grandeur from our sight)
    Will close these heavy lids. But ah! the flight
    On cherub wings through darkness unto light
    Is brief; then rest we free from fear and strife.



  4. Sunset On The Blackhawk
    Poet: Elsie E. Egermeier


    Day is dying on the Blackhawk;
    Slowly sinks the orb of light;
    Dark'ning shadows from the eastward
    Mark the sure approach of night.

    Yes, the day is dying, dying;
    Songbirds soon will tuck their heads
    'Neath their wings, while woodland rovers
    Will be seeking their rude beds.

    Evening zephyrs idly wander
    Through each quiet, shady dell,
    Rustling every drooping leaflet,
    Some familiar tale to tell.

    On the calm and peaceful surface
    Of the Blackhawk's winding stream,
    Here and there are dim reflections
    Of an old, forgotten dream.

    In the rippling of its waters
    We can hear a murmur low,
    And, perchance, we catch faint echoes
    Rising from the long ago.

    Lingering near we wait to listen -
    Summer's  twilight slowly dies,
    While the ever murmuring- waters
    Silently soliloquize.

    Speak they of our red-faced brothers,
    Men whose race of life was run
    Ere we drove their kindred westward,
    Farther toward the setting- sun.

    "Long ago the daylight faded
    On this peaceful little stream;
    Long ago they watched the starlight
    On its silvery waters gleam;

    "Long ago they roved the woodlands
    Bordering on the Blackhawk's brink,
    Drew the fish from out its waters,
    Saw within dark shadows sink.

    "Heard they then the gushing, gurgling
    Sound from where the streamlets flow;
    At the river's head they gathered
    In the sweet old long ago.

    "Up and down the land they wandered
    To the north, south, east, and west;
    But they loved to light their campfires
    By the dear old Blackhawk best."

    Swiftly glides Time's river onward,
    Never backward does it flow;
    Daylight faded on the Blackhawk
    For the redmen long ago.



  5. Beautiful Sunset
    Poet: Eva M. What


    I gaze at the beautiful sunset,
    Portrayed by an Artist Divine,
    In colors of roseate splendor,
    In which mellow glories do shine.

    Was ever a scene so majestic
    Wrought daily for mortals below?
    Methinks that the angels of heaven
    Are charmed with its radiant glow.

    Now misty, gray clouds are approaching;
    Will they hinder this marvelous scene?
    Ah, no! they transform to the grandeur
    Of the sunset, so calm and serene.

    The mountains so lofty and somber,
    And hitherto bleak as the snow,
    Now bathed in this far-reaching splendor,
    Become with the sunset aglow.

    Then each with its rare beauty tinted,
    Reflects on the valley forlorn,
    The soft, mellow halo of sunset,
    More fair than the glow of the moon.

    Be each of our lives as the sunset,
    Adorned by the great Artist's hand,
    Reflecting the light in the darkness
    As He in his wisdom has planned,

    Till like the gray clouds and bleak mountains,
    And the vale when the day has withdrawn,
    Each life may be lighted with beauties —
    As these, and keep passing them on.

    And as we are clothed like the sunset,
    With beauty the world to adorn,
    God grant that life's eve be more brilliant.
    With glory, by far, than its morn.



  6. I gaze at the beautiful sunset, Portrayed by an Artist Divine, In colors of roseate splendor, In which mellow glories do shine.


  7. Sunset
    Poet: Percy Bysshe Shelley


    If solitude hath ever led thy steps
    To the wild ocean's echoing shore.
    And thou hast lingered there
    Until the sun's broad orb
    Seemed resting on the burnished wave,
    Thou must have marked the lines
    Of purple gold that motionless
    Hung o'er the sinking sphere;
    Thou must have marked the billowy clouds,
    Edged with intolerable radiancy,
    Towering like rocks of jet
    Crowned with a diamond wreath.
    And yet there is a moment,
    When the sun's highest point
    Peeps like a star o'er ocean's western edge,
    When those far clouds of feathery gold,
    Shaded with deepest purple, gleam
    Like islands on a dark-blue sea;
    Then has thy fancy soared above the earth,
    And furled its wearied wing
    Within the Fairy's fane.
    Yet not the golden islands
    Gleaming in yon flood of light.
    Nor the feathery curtains
    Stretching o'er the sun's bright couch,
    Nor the burnished ocean's waves
    Paving that gorgeous dome,
    So fair, so wonderful a sight
    As Mab's ethereal palace could afford.
    Yet likest evening's vault, that fairy hall!
    Heaven, low resting on the wave, it spread
    Its floors of flashing light.
    Its vast and azure dome,
    Its fertile golden islands
    Floating on a silver sea;
    Whilst suns their mingling beaming darted
    Through clouds of circumambient darkness,
    And pearly battlements around
    Looked o'er the immense of heaven.



  8. The Sea Of Sunset
    Poet: Emily Dickinson

    This is the land the sunset washes,
    These are the banks of the Yellow Sea;
    Where it rose, or whither it rushes,
    These are the western mystery!

    Night after night her purple traffic
    Strews the landing with opal bales;
    Merchantmen poise upon horizons,
    Dip, and vanish with fairy sails.


  9. Related: Sunset Quotes

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    Reflective and Inspirational Sunset Poems

    Find peace and inspiration as the day closes, and reflect on life’s deeper meanings.


  10. Fulness Of Blessing
    Poet: Jeanie Grace Crawford


    The amber of the sunset yesterday!
    It's blue and gold, oh! could they always stay!
    Say not so, child, — they only went away
    To bring in the new brightness of to-day.

    The pleasures of my golden yesterday!
    Its radiant visions! would that they might stay!
    Say not so, heart, — they only went their way
    As heralds of the blessings of to-day.

    Not mine the golden glimpse of yesterday,
    Whose colors dazzle but to fade away;
    For, though it wear a guise of sombre gray,
    Real is the silver of my own to-day.



  11. may there be just clouds enough over your life to cause a glorious sunset


  12. Where Did It Go?
    Poet: W. C. Gannett


    Where did yesterday's sunset go
    When it faded down the hills so slow —
    And the gold grew dim and the purple light
    Like an army with banners passed from sight?

    Will its flush go into the golden rod
    Its thrill to the purple aster's nod
    Its crimson fleck the maple-bough
    And the autumn-glory begin from now?

    Deeper than flower fields sank the glow
    Of the silent pageant passing slow.

    It flushed all night in many a dream
    It thrilled in the folding hush of prayer
    It glided into a poet's song
    It is setting still in a picture rare;

    It changed by the miracle none can see
    To the shifting lights of a symphony;
    And in resurrection of faith and hope
    And glory died on the shining slope.

    For it left its light on the hills and seas
    That run a thousand memories.



  13. At Sunset
    Poet: Martha McCulloch-Williams


    Send me a song at sunset.
    And fill each pulsing line
    With the lilt the runnel sang in June
    And the sigh of the swaying pine.
    The swaying pine had green young tips —
    One soft caressed my cheek;
    Ah! happily the water sang
    The thing we dared not speak.

    Send me a sigh at sunset,
    A sigh for life and loss.
    My heart shall hear, and whisper clear
    A thousand miles across,
    "In June the pine had green young tips —
    But ah! beloved, remember
    How clear the steadfast hue abides
    In frosts of chill December!"

    Send me a thought at sunset;
    Straight on the level beams
    It shall leap the earth and breast the sea
    To color all my dreams
    Anew a golden June shall bum
    And pine-tips kiss my cheek.
    What time the lilting runnel sings
    The thing we dared not speak.



  14. Love's Sunset
    Poet: David V. Bush


    We stood together long ago,
    And watched the fading west;
    With heart aglow I whispered soft:
    ''Tis you that I love best."

    No answered word those dear lips gave,
    Too full of love to speak;
    Though brighter than the sunset gleamed
    Your fair and rosy cheek.

    No time in all my life so sweet.
    So full of warmth and light,
    As when on our betrothal hour
    The sunset smiled good night.

    And ever since that wondrous eve
    Has life been doubly dear;
    Each sunset hour that comes and goes
    Still draws our hearts more near.

    Whene'er the sun's expiring beams
    Bring glory to the west,
    My thoughts are borne on wings of flame
    To her whom I love best.

    Each sunset hour my spirit turns
    To that blest moment when
    You sweetly promised to be mine,
    In that remembered glen.

    How many times our hearts have burned
    With love forever true,
    While such experiences we shared
    As sunset never knew.

    We stood beside a casket small,
    To mourn life's faded flower,
    And kissed our little one farewell,
    At sunset's solemn hour.

    How many times we've stemmed the tide
    Of sorrow and of care;
    And in the hour of sunset calm
    Have learned our lot to bear.

    The joys and griefs of human life
    The sun may never know,
    Nor how our eager hearts are thrilled
    By its expiring glow.

    And as each sunset comes and goes,
    Our hearts are closer drawn.
    Our constant love shall never fade;
    Its day is still at dawn.

    Ah, all these years, my sweetheart true,
    Each sunset in the west
    Has taught me how to cherish more
    The girl I love the best.
    Sweetheart, my eager soul aspires

    To meet life's sternest test,
    In love of her who plighted troth,
    While sunset crowned the west.
    And when life's slowly setting sun
    Shall linger in the west.

    Be sure you still will be to me
    The one I love the best.
    And if perchance you first shall pass
    From earth to endless rest,
    Each sunset hour shall wake the thought
    Of her whom I love best.

    And you will wait in that far land.
    Beyond the glowing west,
    Until we meet to part no more.
    Where love is ever blest.



  15. How Beautiful The Setting Sun
    Poet: Unknown


    How beautiful the setting sun!
    The clouds, how bright and gay!
    The stars, appearing one by one,
    How beautiful are they!

    And when the moon climbs up the sky,
    And sheds her gentle light,
    And hangs her crystal lamp on high,
    How beautiful is night!

    And can it be, that I'm possessed
    Of something brighter far?
    Glows there a light within this breast,
    Out-shining every star?

    Yes, should the sun and stars turn pale,
    The mountains melt away,
    This flame within shall never fail,
    But live in endless day.



  16. How beautiful the setting sun! The clouds, how bright and gay!


  17. Beyond
    Poet: Unknown


    The sunset's crown of radiant gold
    And robe of amethyst
    Had paled to twilight gray and cold
    And trembling veils of mist;
    Then, up in the heaven the white moon sailed,
    And, gleaming in her wake,
    Her silvery shimmering garments trailed -
    A shining way, in shadows veiled,
    Across the dusky lake.

    The darkness quenched the sunset hues;
    Day, shrouded, sank in night;
    Yet through the gloom and through the dews
    Still trailed that track of light.
    No wind bore upward hymn or prayer,
    No step throbbed on the sod,
    And yet my soul saw opened there -
    Cross lake, o'er mount, through ambient air -
    A shining path to God.

    O coward soul, that fears to miss
    The glow from out thy sky,
    That shrinks from sorrow's touch and kiss
    When shades are drawing nigh, -
    Beyond the night's o'ershadowing form
    Light gleams on wave and sod,
    And thou mayst climb - thy robe and crown
    Faded and in the dust laid down -
    That shining way to God.


  18. Related: Poems About The Sky

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    Sunsets and Change

    Explore the symbolism of change and transformation as the sun sets and the day transitions to night.


  19. Beautiful Evening
    Poet: Mary E. Nealey


    I love the beautiful evening
    When the sunset clouds are gold;
    When the barn-fowls seek a shelter,
    And the young lambs seek their fold:
    When the four-o'clocks are open,
    And the swallows homeward come;
    When the horses cease their labors,
    And the cows come home;

    When the sunset and the twilight
    In mingling hues are bent,
    I can sit and watch the shadows
    With my full heart all content;
    And I wish for nothing- brighter,
    And I long no more to roam
    When the twilight's peace comes o'er me,
    And the cows come home.



  20. When the sunset and the twilight In mingling hues are bent, I can sit and watch the shadows With my full heart all content


  21. Eventide
    Poet: G. W. Tatro


    Slowly the sun sinks in the west;
    The song-bird, hovering o'er her nest,
    Softly twitters her evening song;
    While from the fields, where all day long
    The harvesters with sickles keen
    Have cut the waving, golden sheen
    Of ripened grain, and while the dew
    Falls on each bud and floweret new,
    The whippoorwill from thicket green
    Pipes his shrill whistle all unseen;
    While moonlit rays of silvery light
    Pierce through the gloom of darkening night,
    And twinkling stars shine softly through
    The azure depths of heavenly blue;
    And with the sleeping world abide
    The watchful sprites of eventide.


  22. Related: Poems About Night

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    Spiritual and Symbolic Sunset Poems

    Discover the spiritual and symbolic significance of sunsets, representing life, faith, and eternity.


  23. Sunset
    Poet: Sarah B. Sawyer


    High up in heaven the foamy flakes
    Of sunset-clouds are resting;
    The rose-tint o'er them softly breaks
    Their ragged edges cresting;
    Here lies a strip of darkling blue,
    Fringed with a soft pale yellow;
    Close by a crimson shade is seen
    Blending with each bright billow.
    But see! a purple light now glows,
    Fading but lovely still,
    Replaced by gold and silver rays
    That flash from hill to hill.

    Low down beneath an orange shade
    Of clouds more still and dark,
    The sun is slowly sinking now —
    Of heaven's sea the bark;
    For like an ocean broad, methinks
    The tinted clouds are spread;
    And through their billows bright, the sun
    Each day his course hath sped.

    But he has gone — and lo! the clouds
    That flitted o'er his way,
    The blue, the gold, the orange shade,
    Have changed to sober gray.
    'Tis thus with life — some brilliant sun
    Our rough path crosses o'er,
    But soon is gone; the ray is lent,
    Then, quivering, gleams no more.
    Not in ourselves are all the shades
    That make our sky so bright;
    But, like the clouds at sunset hour,
    We shine with borrowed light.



  24. Sunset And Twilight
    Poet: M. J. E. Crawford


    The sun hath gone down in the crimsoned west,
    The dove hath flown to her lonely nest,
    And the golden light of departing day
    Tinges the mountains far away,
    Till their green sides glow with a brilliant flush,
    Like a calm face lighting with love's warm blush.

    The sky is bright as the light that gleams
    From the sparkling waves of sunlit streams,
    And the rosy clouds are soft and light
    As the dreams which visit our hearts by night
    The soft west wind as it murmurs by
    With its fragrant breath and dreamy sigh,
    Makes music sweet as the pleasant tones
    Which fall from the lips of loving ones —
    Tones which leave in the inmost heart
    Gentle echoes which never depart.

    The eye which rests on a scene so bright
    Never can tire of the gorgeous sight:
    The soul is filled with a rapture pure,
    That mortal senses can scarce endure;
    The pulses throb, and the full heart longs
    To frame its bliss into thrilling songs,
    The glorious light to its depth to win,
    And drink the spirit of beauty in;
    Embody each delicate tint and glow,
    And breathe it in music soft and low;
    But its powers are bound in too bright a chain —
    Lips can not utter that spirit-strain.

    The bright hues fade, and a purple mist
    Creeps o'er the hills which the sunbeams kissed;
    The thin clouds melt from their mellow hue.
    And lose themselves in the deep, dark blue;
    While shadows steal o'er the quiet scene,
    Like fairy forms from the woodland green.
    The day-blooms softly are folding up
    The glowing leaves of each tiny cup,
    Quietly closing each drowsy eye,
    Till light returns to the eastern sky;
    While dew-drops gather like gems of light,
    In hearts of blossoms which scent the night.

    The stars come out in the arch above,
    Pure lamps lit up by the hand of love;
    And earthward spreading their shining wings,
    As if to vie with those radiant things;
    The fireflies glitter and gleam and glance.
    And seem to move in a mystic dance;
    The sound of streams and the scent of flowers
    Seem sweeter now than at other hours,
    And the soul grows calm in the twilight air,
    And bows itself in unspoken prayer.



  25. The sky is bright as the light that gleams From the sparkling waves of sunlit streams


  26. Sunset
    Poet: Ella Higginson


    Broad wave on wave of scarlet flecked with gold,
    Outstretched beneath an opalescent sky,
    Wherein pale tints with glowing colors vie;
    From their birthplace within the sea are rolled

    Sweet perfumes by the sea-breeze strong and cold.
    Here white sails gleam and soft cloud-shadows lie,
    And isles are kissed by winds that wanton by,
    Or rocked by gales in unchecked passion bold.
    Locked in by swelling, fir-clad hills it lies -

    One stretch of purpling, heavy gold; serene,
    It laughs and dimples under sunset skies,
    Toward which the chaste Olympies, snow-girt, lean,
    And, bathing in that flood of glory, make
    Fit setting for that burnished ocean-lake.



  27. Sunset
    Poet: Paul Laurence Dunbar

    The river sleeps beneath the sky,
    And clasps the shadows to its breast;
    The crescent moon shines dim on high;
    And in the lately radiant west
    The gold is fading into gray.
    Now stills the lark his festive lay,
    And mourns with me the dying day.
    While in the south the first faint star
    Lifts to the night its silver face,
    And twinkles to the moon afar
    Across the heaven’s graying space,
    Low murmurs reach me from the town,
    As Day puts on her sombre crown,
    And shakes her mantle darkly down.


  28. Related: Heaven Poems

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Frequently Asked Questions

Questions asked by readers about sunset poems.


  • What is the meaning behind sunset poems?
    Sunset poems often symbolize the end of a day and can represent closure, reflection, and transitions in life. They evoke emotions of peace, beauty, and sometimes melancholy, as they signify the fading light. Sunsets are also seen as a metaphor for endings and new beginnings, making them popular in poetry that explores life changes or spiritual reflection.



  • Why do poets write about sunsets?
    Poets are drawn to sunsets because they are visually stunning and emotionally resonant. The gradual fading of light, the blend of colors, and the sense of calm or introspection that sunsets inspire provide a rich canvas for exploring themes of beauty, time, transition, and nature. Sunsets often evoke feelings of contemplation, making them ideal for reflective poetry.



  • How do sunset poems inspire reflection?
    Sunsets often mark the end of a day, a time when people naturally pause to reflect on their experiences. The gradual fading of light mirrors life's transitions and encourages introspection on personal growth, past memories, and future hopes. The imagery of a setting sun inspires contemplation on life’s fleeting moments and the balance between endings and new beginnings.



  • Sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully. Kristen Butler



  • Are sunset poems always sad?
    Not all sunset poems are sad. While some poems use the sunset as a symbol of endings or loss, others focus on the beauty, peace, and hope that come with the transition from day to night. Sunset poems can evoke a wide range of emotions, from serenity and awe to nostalgia and joy, depending on the poet’s perspective.



  • Are there any copyright restrictions on these poems?
    Yes, all of our poems are copyrighted. However, if you wish to use one of our poems for personal use you have our permission and they are free to use. However, if the poems are for commercial use please contact us for guidelines and permission.



  • Can I submit a poem about sunsets to be published:
    Yes, see our submission guidelines, how to submit, and the review process on our submit a poem page.


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