For the Love of Dusk

For the Love of Dusk
by Rowan Blair Colver

At the end of the day, when all is said and done, the light begins to fade.

The sunshine may pause from its gracing of our portion of the Earth’s surface for a few hours but the human day is not at an end. Many of us are only just beginning to experience what we consider our life, once work and school are out of the way. We know also, that within the course of the night, we will spin around and meet the dawn. The symbolic drawing in of night-time no longer seems to dominate our society, what with the luxury of heated homes, electric lights and cars. We can sometimes forget that we are natural beings like the rest of them out there, following their own patterns dictated by circumstance. City birds for example often sing right through the night, when their well-lit parks and verges never receive a full bathing in darkness.

But what is dusk? We all know it is that fuzzy time in the evening between day and night, but actually it is more precise than that. Dusk is the official end of twilight, and before you celebrate, I don’t mean the vampires but the period of time once the sun has set but the sky remains blue. Dusk is the moment at which this ends and this is measured by how many degrees below the horizon the sun is. Then, to complicate things further, there are actually three types of twilight and therefore three types of dusk.

Let’s go through them one at a time. The journey into night begins with sunset. As said earlier, the Earth spins around just enough within the moment to push the horizon beyond the reach of the direct glare of the sun. The bulb of our star appears to melt or dissolve into the Earth as it gradually fades from its luminous disc shape, into an ovular fiery yolk and finally rays or red and orange peaking from the furthest landmark. Daytime birds begin to flock and roost, animals also begin to settle for sleep. Within their coves, crannies and burrows, the nocturnal creatures are doing the opposite. Amidst the bustling of commuters, take away deliveries and on the town preparations are the awakening minds of foxes, badgers, owls, weasels and other things, who prefer the safety or stealth of the dark. 

We enter civilian twilight, the streets become lit and the dining room lamps go on. For people the light levels become too low for normal conditions and so help is needed. TV’s flicker through drawn curtains by the roadside as passers by zip up their coats as a fresh cool breeze begins to move in. A crow may call from a rooftop before escaping somewhere, a secret nesting site in a thick canopy of local foliage. When the sun reaches 6 degrees below the horizon, and the sky has turned a deep shade of chilly blue, we reach civil dusk. Night has arrived for most, but not all. 

On the ocean, where the horizon is furthest away and there are no buildings to block the light of the sun, it is still possible to see the tips of the waves on the water. As they crest and break their shimmering sparkle remains for a good few minutes as the planet continues to spin. Only when the sun is 12 degrees away from the edge of the world does its radiance lose its glimmer upon the face of the water. Nautical twilight and dusk have been accomplished and the sea captain can officially go to bed. That is unless he likes a bit of star gazing, for we have now entered the world as astronomical twilight. The period of time where the sky still clings to a slight tinge of colour, the refracted light of our closest star still influencing the atmosphere by a last ditched attempt to declare its love. Not all visible stars are yet, well, visible. We have to wait a little while longer before we can officially declare the night has begun. 

The Colour of Dusk Haiku Postcard by Rowan_Blair_Colver
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Leaves of a Fern by Rowan Blair Colver Print by Rowan_Blair_Colver
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The Colour of Dusk Haiku Poster by Rowan_Blair_Colver
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We may find the eagle has gone to bed and the owl is out instead, we may see the sheep are asleep and the foxes prowl the chicken boxes but the day is still not over yet. The star gazers are setting their telescopes by torchlight but they are not ready to stare, there are still a few more moments before the sun desists its glare. Another 6 degrees, making that 18, are what it takes for the sky to break and reveal the cosmic sea. And finally, at astronomical dusk, the moment arises. Night draws in like a celestial blanket of rest. It is time for relaxation, for respite, for food, for dancing, for love. Some like to be alone, and some like to cuddle up close, some like to indulge and others like to spend the night out and about, but when the stars come out, we realise that it is never dark, there is no lack of light. The main lamp of the sun is only a cloak to cover the face of the humbling and inspiring majesty of the universe.  

Rowan Blair Colver

for Alternative Fruit Creative Arts