
I’m love, lust, and power,
I’m the rose scenting the bower
with perfumed bloom–
I’m scattered in rooms, laid on tombs,
in garnet spread, the shade with which we toast the dead
the luscious wine, merely one mourning thread,
or sip of seduction. I’m the crimson of celebration—
the color of flags and war decorations.
I’m the moon cycle of daughters and wife–
I’m the blood of death, the flow of life,
I stream from wounds and birth,
and nourish the earth
with youth blown dead, as poppies yield
to battlefields
still, bright color pops
amid remains, a buzzard-swoop, a rat hip-hop,
with berry-stained fur—
all the kings, politicians, and battles were
for what? Scarlet puddles, decayed remains,
only ghosts born from these labor pains.
I’m the she-wolf’s cry,
and the vampire’s sigh
beyond all understanding–
I am the light of the universe expanding.
A late entry for Mish’s dVerse prompt to “slip out of our human bodies and become nothing but a color.” I would normally pick blue, but decided to go with something different. 😀 I’m also linking it to Open Link Night. It’s a live session, but it’s my husband’s birthday, and we’re going to do a birthday project together instead.