Sunrise

"At last the golden oriental gate Of greatest heaven 'gan to open fair, And Phoebus, fresh as bridegroom to his mate, Came dancing forth, shaking his dewy hair, And hurled his glistering beams through gloomy air."

"Prayer is good at any time, yet there are two periods of change of currents when turning to the Higher World is especially desirable—at sunrise and after sunset."

"The [sun] never really sets or rises. In that they think of him “He is setting,” having reached the end of the day, he inverts himself; thus he makes evening below, day above. Again in that they think of him “He is rising in the morning,” having reached the end of the night he inverts himself; thus he makes day below, night above. He never sets; indeed he never sets."

"The sun had long since in the lap Of Thetis taken out his nap, And, like a lobster boil'd, the morn From black to red began to turn."

"Dawn was just getting serious. One of the rarely spoken advantages to being a birder are the number of sunrises you get to appreciate in the course of a lifetime. Most people come onto a day full blown—to a sun already high in the sky, a world already in motion, and the impossible task of catching up. They rarely see the tentative side of morning or appreciate the great struggle between light and darkness played out on a world stage. Some mornings come raging over the horizon, angry and red. Some are so subtle that the transformation of night and day seems like an afterthought. All are different and all are priceless."

"Utu, shepherd of the land, father of the black-headed, when you go to sleep, the people go to sleep with you; youth Utu, when you rise, the people rise with you."

"The heavenly-harness'd team Begins his golden progress in the east."

"He fires the proud tops of the eastern pines And darts his light through every guilty hole."

"As when the golden sun salutes the morn, And, having gilt the ocean with his beams, Gallops the zodiac in his glistering coach, And overlooks the highest-peering hills."

"Hail, gentle Dawn! mild blushing goddess, hail! Rejoic'd I see thy purple mantle spread O'er half the skies, gems pave thy radiant way, And orient pearls from ev'ry shrub depend."

"But yonder comes the powerful King of Day, Rejoicing in the East."

"The sun is stationed for all time, in the middle of the day... The rising and the setting of the sun being perpetually opposite to each other, people speak of the rising of the sun where they see it; and, where the sun disappears, there, to them, is his setting. Of the sun, which is always in one and the same place, there is neither setting nor rising."

"Oh the road to Mandalay Where the flyin'-fishes play An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!"

"The east is blossoming! Yea, a rose, Vast as the heavens, soft as a kiss, Sweet as the presence of woman is, Rises and reaches, and widens and grows Large and luminous up from the sea, And out of the sea, as a blossoming tree, Richer and richer, so higher and higher, Deeper and deeper it takes its hue; Brighter and brighter it reaches through The space of heaven and the place of stars, Till all is as rich as a rose can be, And my rose-leaves fall into billows of fire."

"Night is the time for rest; How sweet, when labours close, To gather round an aching breast The curtain of repose, Stretch the tired limbs, and lay the head Down on our own delightful bed!"

"The whole east was flecked With flashing streaks and shafts of amethyst, While a light crimson mist Went up before the mounting luminary, And all the strips of cloud began to vary Their hues, and all the zenith seemed to ope As if to show a cope beyond the cope!"

"As the sun rises, decisions are made."

"And yonder fly his scattered golden arrows, And smite the hills with day."

"See! led by Morn, with dewy feet, Apollo mounts his golden seat, Replete with seven-fold fire; While, dazzled by his conquering light, Heaven's glittering host and awful night Submissively retire."

"See how there The cowlèd night Kneels on the Eastern sanctuary-stair."

"East, oh, east of Himalay Dwell the nations underground, Hiding from the shock of day, For the sun's uprising sound… So fearfully the sun doth sound, Clanging up beyond Cathay; For the great earthquaking sunrise Rolling up beyond Cathay."

"The rising sun complies with our weak sight, First gilds the clouds, then shows his globe of light At such a distance from our eyes, as though He knew what harm his hasty beams would do."