A Poem Dedicated to El Paso Sun

I Wanted To Try Something Different Today

So I decided to share a poem with you about the sun here in The Sun City. I hope you enjoy it, El Paso.

An Ode To El Paso Sun

I watched the sun kick light over Franklin’s peak one morning, 

Watched the way the rays of blurred pink and warm orange 

Licked the clouds and stained the blue sky with its hue, 

I watched the sunlight crest into a golden mountain morning

And as sun passed over the deep green of lingering desert plants

Still hanging on to the last bit of moisture on the stones, 

I saw specks of dust in the air glow against the umber light,

Saw those sunset clouds evolve into blue skies that stretch

Over Juarez and cast themselves into the southwest like 

A blanket of borrowed color holding the desert in its hands

As if God whispered his blessings into the miles of nopales 

And sang the sun over the Rio Grande to match the metronome

Of flowing water and canyons like veins bleeding life into

The borderland bustle, where sun becomes Sun City and 

People roll over roads and sidewalks alongside lines of

Ants illuminated between concrete cracks as they work

Through the fire of a blistering El Paso afternoon,

Construction workers wipe sweat gleaming with bits

Of borrowed sun as pedestrians breeze through the

Streets making their way on city stone from one bus stop 

To the next, born and bred and basted in the heat, 

The sun merely kisses their dark brown skin, 

Not quite enough to draw sweat stains from their

Sun-faded t-shirts or worn down jeans, 

And as the afternoon steps off the mountain and makes its

Way into the valley, the evening rolls down with it, 

A sprinkling of night poking its head out to tinge the boulders

With red sand kisses, like the sunset couldn't wait to 

Caress the Franklin Mountains once more, 

Like it wasn't enough to spend the day together, 

The sunset holds the jagged cliffs of McKelligon Canyon

As if they may not meet again tomorrow and while 

Sun falls from the sky, it writes a love letter

On the clouds with its light and its heart beats stars

Into the horizon and it gives the last of itself to the

Moon so that the mountain won't forget it while it rests. 

And as I make my way through El Paso, the sun sets

Finally and almost as if the mountain misses the light, 

It paints an effigy to the morning star on its very body, 

Like a beacon reminding the sun where it belongs. 

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If you liked this short piece, consider downloading the KISS Mobile app and sharing photos of our beautiful sunrises or sunsets, and while you're at it, let me know if you like this content. Maybe I will share more of my poems about our wonderful space here in the southwest.

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