In Praise of Colour

pink and red
yellow and brown
and inbetween, blue
dark purple, pale green
these are the colours we hurt in
red, blood flowing through veins
menses from the womb
creamy, the vernix of a baby’s birth
colourless, the liquid salt from our eyes
be they brown or blue
green or grey, hazel
amber, topaz, ruby
sapphire, lapis, jade
amethyst
fields of poppy, fields of lavender
brome swaying in the breeze
blue spruce, white spruce, wintergreen
long blue shadows on January snow
the wolf, grey, grizzled
tawny, auburn, silver, black
shades and scents of roses
pink to peach, damask, vanilla
burgundy, carmine, plum
aubergine
horses dappled, bay, buckskin
chestnut, dun, grullo, roan
blue, paint, pinto
palomino
I think the creator revelled in colour
palette perfect
the contrasts, nuances, the shades
but instead of seeing beauty in colour
we draw lines     us and them
haves and have nots
enough      and not enough
cut us, and the blood flows always red
strike us, and we bruise the same colours
pink and red
yellow and brown
and inbetween, blue
dark purple
pale green

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a pearl in this diamond world … Josephine LoRe is the author of two collections which integrate poetry and photography,  ‘Unity’ and the Calgary Herald Bestseller ‘The Cowichan Series’, as well as the short story “Cornflower”.  Her words have been read on stage, put to music, danced, and integrated into visual art.  They appear in anthologies and literary journals in nine countries, including FreeFall Literary Magazine, Japan’s Mount Fuji Tanka Grand Prix, Pendemic poetry in Ireland and the upcoming (M)othering Anthology.  https://www.josephinelorepoet.com/