The Afternoon Sun Stayed

Now the day begins to soften

Into honey-colored air

And I feel my mind release

What it no longer has to bear

Not every wound is fully mended

Not every question put away

But my heart is less afraid

Than it was at start of day

So when life becomes too crowded

I will remember this light

How it touched the ordinary

And made everything feel right

How the warm and quiet afternoon

Taught my spirit how to stay

And how healing can arrive

In the middle of the day

In the afternoon sun stayed

On my shoulders, on my face

And it told me I could loosen

All the pressure, all the weight

In the afternoon sun stayed

Like a kindness without end

And my heart began to open

Like a home I could enter again

When the evening slowly finds me

I will keep this golden trace

Of the sun that stayed beside me

And the peace it left in place

Like a tender little memory

That will never fade away

Of the afternoon that loved me

And quietly chose to stay