In Okinawa, where I live, we have the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. Therefore, I realized, it would be wonderful to record these in some way, as they're always so gorgeous and unique every evening. Next, I realized, what a better way to both record and develop my descriptive prose than to write it down here? I'll be posting the occasional sunset description, and hopefully a new one every time I'm in a new place. Thanks for stopping by!
August 27, 2015 -- Okinawa, Japan
Clouds--deep, deep grey clouds like the thick sea they are in the sky--loom high above the horizon. For miles they stretch, telling of coming rain about to pour, until they finally taper out in hazy brush strokes. Far in the distance, a thin slit between the expansive grey sea above and the rooftops, the sky glows a gentle pink. Over the pink is a layer of vague, grey haze, revealing falling rain far away. They grey evolves deeper and darker and stretches farther as it grows. Clouds further flow into a circle, a stormy blue as a backdrop for the real storm clouds. Wind blows against palm leaves, reminding me of the recent typhoon and telling me the rain I see in the horizon is coming nearer by the instant. A storm arises, the clouds stretching farther and farther overhead until they ultimately consume the sky.
August 20, 2015 -- Okinawa, Japan
There's a blinding explosion of light on the horizon. The light stretches high into the sky in a circle, but slowly dims as it lowers, until it is only one, large circle of pure yellow. Staring at it light I shouldn't, the bulb of sun wavers in a haze and shakes and glows, all the while flooding the clouds floating high above with golden dust. The thin, misty puffs glide toward what looks like the radiance of Heaven, attracted to the sphere. Rays all around the sphere elongate, gradually turning from a bright yellow to red as they reach farther into the light blue. Birds, six of them, flap their wings overhead, taking a trip across the cloudless blue that stretches all around this evening, down to the moon. I hear the birds, too, continuously chirping to one another, in a variety of songs.
August 19, 2015 -- Okinawa, Japan
Trees rustle, many birds call to each other, geckos occasionally croak out clicking noises, cicadas buzz incessantly and a breeze brushes looses strands of hair into my face. Then, before me, orange and pink glow in a rapidly darkening sky. In front of the colors like Northern Lights are shadowy clouds trying to conceal them. Edges blurred with light, centers a threatening dark, each floating in large grey cotton balls individual from each other. They loom slowly towards the horizon. Gradually, they make their way to cover more of the colors. But, the colors are still plain, unable to be covered, with a smoky pink just above the trees on the hill, and an almost neon-orange streak of clouds at the edge of the horizon. Twilight dawns, slowly; the air feels different. An almost light adrenaline as, straight above, the sky turns dark blue, but, straight ahead, the vibrant, horizontal streak of colors silhouettes the power lines. The sliver-moon pokes out from behind a cloud.
August 18, 2015 -- Okinawa, Japan
Fire is raining down on the horizon. In the distance is pure, glowing gold like fire, as though watching it rain from the distance on Doomsday. Just at the ceiling of this fire raining is a cloud, hovering as though stroked horizontally with a paintbrush, and just below hang grey splotches loosely like ashes just about to fall.
A window pokes out to the far left. Straight rays of golden yellow shines out on a gathering of dragonflies hovering above a tree, making it seem like that's where the dragonflies have just come from. An almost fantasy, other-world feel. Trail along to the right, up the puffing hill, the dark, massive, stormy cloud is rimmed with glowing yellow, brighter than any of the other parts. It rises into the hill, vague rays shooting out at the summit high into the sky and darker blue, then slopes down into the valley.
There are no lights for a season in this valley. Only dark, shadowed clouds in a deep gray with blurred, indistinct edges. Behind the light, furthest right, where the hill runs deepest, there is a glimpse of light. With a reddish color it rims a cloud that puffs and has depth, barely visible till it disappears again beyond the dark shadow. Then, at the very furthest right, there is the evidence of a wide window of light beyond the cloud, casting against a tall, puffing cloud of white tinted with grey at the right edges.
Around all of the sky are the distant, shadowy, smoky puffs of grey, the ones with blurry edges, and they float around like grey ghosts in the sky. Between two of them, stretching up to the top left, is the beauty of a sliver of the silver moon cast against light blue.
Sophie's critiques:
Before she read it, she described the sunset as, "It looks like a video game!" while looking at it through sunglasses.
She told me about the description: I like the metaphors you used; you could use more of those, like the paintbrush one. Don't say things like "to the right" and "to the left;" it's hard to follow. Have less analytical description, because when you look at a picture you don't pick it apart piece by piece, so you have to guide the reader through it more.
After this, she noted how dragonflies were very indecisive creatures. They go one way, then stop suddenly and go the other.
There are many dragonflies out tonight.
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