Sunday, October 13, 2013

Do you prefer dawn or dusk?

photo: Brooklyn in the twilight at dusk
Cars heading home in the twilight in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

I stepped out for a short walk the other day at dusk to grab a couple slices of pizza and was reminded of how much I love this time of day. It's called twilight, the short period when the sun is already below the horizon after sunset and just before dark. The word "twilight" can also refer to the quality of the light at this time and actually has a poetic ring to it. As such, it's more common in writing, especially in storytelling, than in speaking. We also use this word to talk about the early morning hours of dawn; however, it is used more to refer to nightfall.