The House of the Sun
The darkness was tangible,
all encompassing, thick, and close
as I drove up a steep and winding road.
Around complicated curve after curve
wheels hugged the edge of pavement
until I reached the top of
Haleakala Volcano crater.
The House of the Sun.
It was 4:30am.
The cold penetrated deep to the bone
this close to the sky.
Thousands of stars saturated
the great black expanse.
I had never seen so many stars in my life.
In the valley where I live,
the stars don’t penetrate the smog.
This close to the equator,
I could almost reach out and touch their flashing brightness
as they fell from the heavens.
I wished upon each amazing streak of light I saw
shooting, glowing, burning up the sky.
Wishes for a life I have yet to live.

I huddled close to the edge of Haleakala’s great crater,
with all who came to see the Sunrise that day.
Those who needed to behold the secret to life
as I did.
We stood waiting, wondering, searching for answers;
perched on the edge of darkened clouds,
and the unknown.
Ten minutes passed, then thirty more,
as the cold seeped deeper into my body's core
until the first light of warmth began to crown.
Yellow, orange and reds broke across the heavens
piercing the blanket of clouds,
lightening the blueness of the sky.
This was no quick process…
the Sun rises in God’s own time.
Patience, is a hard lesson to learn.
I waited reverently,
holding my breath,
while God pulled the golden orb slowly up
through the haze,
unbroken from one eternal moment to the next.
I waited, still
for dawning enlightenment.
As the sky was covered with rays of hope.
Hope that I could reach out, touch and hold on to.  posted by Matildakay at 8:00 AM