In the Gloaming

Last night as shadows fell and darkness tiptoed down the street, I thought about other twilights, or gloamings, and the song, In the Gloaming came to mind. It’s an old song, one that I learned as a child from a thin songbook with a red cover. I believe the title of the book is America Sings. I still have the book and now and then look through it and sit down at the piano and play some of those songs I knew and sang so long ago.

I don’t know why twilight should be a lonely time. Maybe it’s because the activities of the day are past and nothing much is left except to go to sleep until the morning. It could be that in years gone by, the family gathered around the supper table about this time. Everyone talked and laughed as we ate. We were tired from a day’s work or school but we were all together, contented and happy. Maybe it’s the memories of those times that linger and contrast now with a much quieter time.

It’s good that hope rises with the sun and I meet each new day with enthusiasm. I am reminded of one of my favorite Bible verses: “His compassions fail not. They are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23).