Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Why are most sunsets described from the sun’s point of view? We say the sun dipped, fell, dropped, slipped, and oozed. Sometimes it does these things into water or behind trees. At other times, it sets behind buildings or into the edge of the horizon.

Maybe it’s because the rotation of the Earth makes earthlings view the sun as a moving object. Consequently, we give it credit for the evening’s sunset when, in reality, it is stationary and we are the ones who are moving.

Technically speaking, we should probably say that the part of the Earth you and I are standing on when the sun “sets” has just rotated on its axis to a point where we cannot see the sun any longer. But this description doesn’t inspire poets, playwrights, or even plumbers.

I do have one idea for a different perspective. Instead of describing what the sun does, we could describe it from the point of view of the object that is in our way when we get to that point on the Earth’s axis. If Lake Michigan were in the way, the following verbs might be used: swallowed, consumed, bathed. If a grove of oak trees were involved, we might consider that the grove hid the sun from our view or caught it in leafy branches. This approach doesn’t address the issue that the sun is stationary, but it does give the poets, playwrights, and plumbers added creative ammunition.