Do you have a coat of colour
She asks
Checking off what seems to be
An obituary list
I have nothing in colour
Aside from me
She taps her pencil
I am blue
Of course
Like the sea
And apple pies
I don’t question the pies
Or the sweet cherry flies
She is busy
Plotting
Planning
Preparing
Better than being I suppose
She collapsed on the side line
Nobody saw
The letters
Fell like wire rain
Of course nobody saw
She gets a little cross
When I am both placid and fixed
Words paper the cracks
They do not fill the holes
Devil dust and sugar
Mixed up in a bowl
Home comforts
I wonder what that is
We all know
You paper the cracks
And you fill the holes
Maybe you should look more closely
See what is mended fixed and patched
Now do be quiet
I hang my head
A single twist of salt can kill
When placed in a fragile wound
Fixed filled patched
I need something
Now
Now
Now
Something more
Robust
Wrenching
Resonant
She puts her pencil down
Looks at me softly
I always get lost in her eyes
They are
Sea
Moon
Stars
Dust
Sugar
Mine
When it comes
And we all know it will
What colour would you like it to be
Blue
Of course
It would be like having you
She pauses
You know I can’t come too
Yes
She snuggles in my shoulder
Sprinkles pretend fairy dust in my hair
Then blue it shall be
And I will stay
Until I know that you are
Quiet and still
Thank you
I say
Holding her tiny hand
For a single moment
Nothing hurts
I have something here
Blue
Sky
Clouds
Rain
Bright
Shiny
Mine
For a single moment
Nothing hurts
And I understand
There can be peace in being.
LOVE- especially how you associated this color with its various moods and significance :D sigh who can deny the peace and happiness of blue skies :D
ReplyDeleteLots of love,
Sanaa
Thank you very much Sanaa - it is a simple request but perhaps it requires some effort to achieve
DeleteIndeed, if one looks closely one can see a lot that is either papered or painted.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the way you focused on blue. (That is my favorite color.) And yes, there can be peace in being....sometimes the best peace, in fact, if one just stays in the here & now and breathes in and out.
Yes - thank you kindly Mary - sometimes it takes a lot of breaths...but that's ok...just keeping being is what counts...in the best way that we can :)
Delete"Sea
ReplyDeleteMoon
Stars
Dust
Sugar
Mine"
And:
"Blue
Sky
Clouds
Rain
Bright
Shiny
Mine"
What comfort to be at home in the self! Why wait for the very end? Indeed, this moment defies ending when togetherness lets us see through the cracks, and not hide them. Blue. Dark. These are not antithetical to Light, they are the beginning, the sky and the sea and the music that rises. Wow. Color me Blue.
Did you catch that - Alice blew some blue fairy dust your way - yes blue is a living colour - thank you kindly Susan - think we have some more work to do on finding home but will get there..eventually
Deletethe vastness, depth, majesty and a sense of peace associated with blue is beautifully expressed...blue is magical and so is Alice..."I always get lost in her eyes /They are / Sea / Moon / Stars / Dust Sugar"...love the lines...
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Sumana - much appreciated
DeleteI'm glad you found there can be peace in being. Love every inch of yourself; everything about you that makes you, you. You are a special person, it screams that in all your poetry. Continue to believe and strive to be happy, it's there inside you.
ReplyDeleteThank you - such a lovely and uplifting comment - we really value that thank you Sheilagh
Delete"Words paper the cracks. They do not fill the holes" is a powerful line. I like, later in the poem, the idea of some of those cracks and holes being patched and filled. Alarm at the going away. Relief and hope at there being "peace in being". Once one experiences that for one moment, it can come again...and again........beautiful writing, my friend, as always. You have a dear little friend in Alice. I love that you chose blue. I did too.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sherry - aha the reason for your full name perhaps - I look forward to reading your poem tomorrow...I think I will keep Alice for a while yet...maybe there will be a few more moments where being is ok..thank you kindly
DeleteBeautifully penned my friend. Blue, the color of friendship. I used to favor blue, but found that it refused to come along without all of its friends. Now we all dance together,
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
What a wonderful comment - thank you Elizabeth - I can picture one of your images in blue finding other colours...like a process of tolerating and marking out more light for ourselves
DeleteI really like how a lot of your poems are so narrative-based. You really paint a picture in the mind of the reader to tell your poem. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Matthew
DeleteLove how rain, blues can be seeing on the positive side as well as on negative....our perception and someone to support and love us, - what else to be happy... '
ReplyDeleteWords paper the cracks
They do not fill the holes ~ but they fill our conscious mind and make feel at home...positive words, of course.
Thank you very much humbird...yes it's easy to forget how much words and thoughts and ideas fulfil our minds when we are constantly persuaded to fulfil ourselves in more physical/material ways...the things that last and sustain us the most are probably the things that don't require a shopping bag..thank you humbird
DeleteI loved this piece Jae. I have been waiting a long time for you to produce a poem with such a positive ending. It has made my day.
ReplyDeleteThank you Old Egg - yay - we made somebody's day...you wait and wait and eventually something good happens :) and am trying so hard to fight back the customary negative whiplash i usually follow up a compliment with - so simply, thank you!
DeleteThis is so beautiful. It was a treat to read this poem :)
ReplyDeleteI loved your take on the color blue.
We are glad to have treated you - thank you Purba :)
Deleteyes, blue is one of my favorite colors. it is gentle and soft much like this lovely piece. it spoke of the comfort of each others company in spite of distractions
ReplyDeletegracias for sharing
Thank you also Marcoantonio ..yes it is gentle and soft...and yes, there is comfort in companionship even if it is a little 'odd' as it is in my case!
DeleteI visualize a social worker who really doesn't get it sitting across the desk. Such peace in the face of bureaucracy.
ReplyDeleteShudder...yes i know the neutral 'I care..honest' expression of many a social worker...but strictly between the hours of 9-4 and with strict boundaries where i am right and you are always wrong..smile...no wonder Alice came along...thank you kindly (other) Alice .. who I suspect knows that to be a little angry is often better than smiling as it shows 'you' really do get it and care...
DeleteBlue does have that kind of effect courting peacefulness
ReplyDeletemice write
much love...
Thank you Gillena - yes blue can be peaceful...and the colour of very nice mice ;)
DeleteI love the ending Jae. This one is lovely, tender filled with a sense of peace, even if for a moment. A moment can feel eternal. I'm glad you can appreciate your blue eyes.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Myrna - hadn't made the connection between the colour of my eyes and Alice - to make those peaceful moments last a little longer would be good
DeleteI guess the message of your whole poem is that blue is a beautiful color as well as peaceful. True! I have always found dreams and beauty in the color blue as I lived on an island surrounded by the great Pacific blue. Love ya!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a nice place to live thank you James - maybe I'm feeling blue can have a slightly different meaning!
DeleteBlue is always associated with calmness, friendship and all. Pleasing to the eye to start with and the peacefulness is retained.Wonderful lines Jae!
ReplyDeleteHank
Thank you most wonderfully Hank
DeleteI LOVE your list-y bits...
ReplyDeleteThis:
"I always get lost in her eyes
They are
Sea
Moon
Stars
Dust
Sugar
Mine"
and the portion below it:
"I have something here
Blue
Sky
Clouds
Rain
Bright
Shiny
Mine"
All together a moving poem, Jae. Thank you!
Thank you too Hannah - we are partial to listy-things!
DeleteA haunting poem. I love the way you formatted it!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much writersdream
DeleteBlue is beautiful ... loved it :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Amrit :)
Deletei think this is one of the more tender poems from you.
ReplyDeletei sense a feeling of calm reading this (maybe it is the colour blue?), i enjoyed reading this, just as i enjoyed reading the darker works.
really, "there can be peace in being" :)
Thank you ds..maybe the blue helped slow down that darkness...i really hope so too...even briefly
Delete