The sun, an over-ripened peach,
slips off the long cloud-limbs that reach
across the deepening edge of crimson sky,

and sinks into the ocean's pool
with silent splash, as breezes cool
the ruffled feathers of the gulls nearby.

A young man whom we've long adored,
with so much life still unexplored,
prepares to slip away to worlds unseen.

His gentle smile, his loving glow
make it so hard to let him go,
but God, in wisdom's way, has come to glean

this precious fruit, our sister's child
who lingered with us for awhile
but now is picked as though a rosy peach.

His sweetness cannot be denied.
The good he gave will long abide
and live beyond this life's uncertain reach.

Though we may mourn our loss with pain,
we smile to think of his great gain . . .
to see at last, the Master eye to eye!

As sun sinks slowly in the west
and shadows fall, we are so blessed;
his lingering love still paints the crimson sky.