Sun God – John C. Krieg

I am the egg yoke

That draws nourishment

From the white light of the heavens

I am fire and gasses and intense heat

Hungry to burn myself out

I was here before you

And will still be here

Long after you are gone

I am the hope of your children

There is no future without me

I am the sun

That greets you daily

That warms you

Feeds you

Burns you

You worship me from your deck chairs

Naked as society allows you to be

I turn your skin one shade closer to death

With each passing minute as you adore

The notion of eternal youth in my gaze

I am the witness of your funeral

Shedding light on your life gone by

I watched every step you took daily

Though often you did not notice me

I always noticed you

I mark the passage of time

I am the reason you exist

Time passes quickly for you

Time passes slowly for me

Time is the constant of the universe

John C. Krieg is a retired landscape architect and land planner who formerly practiced in Arizona, California, and Nevada. He is also retired as an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified arborist and currently holds seven active categories of California state contracting licenses, including the highest category of Class A General Engineering. He has written a college textbook entitled Desert Landscape Architecture (1999, CRC Press). John has had pieces published in A Gathering of the Tribes, Clark Street Review, Conceit, Palm Springs Life, and Pegasus.