Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Painting Rainbows

Written for Poets United Verse First ~ Colored about having color or being colorful.

 After going through a tough experience over the last year I lost a lot of weight, having always been known for wearing very dark or neutral colors, one of the first things I bought was a new pair of salmon colored pants. Of course that started a trend of becoming brighter!


You left me in a very dark place

decidedly on my own.

In a place devoid of colour

you told me to find my way.

I couldn’t see anything initially

everything looked the same.

Couldn’t make out shapes or landmarks

in that dismal state of grey.

The first things I began to recognize

were my old friends black and white.

Stringent and strict in this or that

I began to order chaos.

Slowly I dipped my brush into buckets

and started flinging them onto walls.

To see what it looked like, if any of it fit

if this was how I wanted to live.

The first shade I chose was a very deep red

and I let it run down the walls.

Bleeding onto the floor,

it began to overtake the room.

Next was green, jealousy,

there’s nothing poetic about that.

Funny though by definition

something green is not yet grown.

Yellow, next on the colour wheel

open and brightly determined.

Changing the entire shape

and look and feel of the room.

Now it was getting messy in there

as the colours were starting to blur.

I picked up the next can and threw it at the wall

covering all that was there.

The colour was blue, calm and cool

and suddenly I felt at ease.

But I needed something within that deep blue sea

to contrast the quiet and calm.

I put all the buckets on a spinning wheel

in the center of the room.

Turned it on and stood there

and let the rainbow wash over me.
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

18 comments:

  1. This is beautiful. Love the line "something green is not yet grown"

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  2. A fabulous tale of one's own recreation. Taking your reader from darkness, through the dull, gray and back through the wheel of color is an effective device. Terrific!

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  3. let the rainbow wash over me..awesome line.smiles:)GOD<3U

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  4. I LOVE this poem so much!!!!! The story of a journey through grief, and a developing exploration of the world as seen through one's own eyes - love the blue calm room........and I ADORE the rainbow. I love the way you made this poetic journey, which reveals the inner one as well. Applause!!! Keep seeing rainbow!!!!

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  5. Aha. Healing process complete. I can picture you standing in the middle of the room, adoring your colorful work of art with a bright smile. And yes, every expression of creativity heals and allows a person to grow. I have had those experiences, although I am too lazy and busy now to live them again.

    Anyway, brilliant, brilliant poem. Love it.

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  6. This is charged with emotion and feeling, a creative stream of wonder. I loved it.

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  7. Beautiful and uplifting ending ~ I like how you took charge of your life and let colors seep into your being ~

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  8. Andrea,

    Absolutely wonderful!!! You exhalted your demons and had fun at the same time...a wheel of great colour and you got a result...

    Eileen

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  9. Next step - throw some colour at your blog page, perhaps? :) Interesting colour associations in your words.

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  10. Next was green, jealousy,
    there’s nothing poetic about that.
    Funny though by definition
    something green is not yet grown.

    Well, I'm a huge fan of B&W drams... so I love this blog page :) I loved this metaphor and the whole journey. Nicely done!

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  11. I reallyenjoyed this, I'd love a rainbow to wash over me

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  12. I really appreciated your poem particularly the juxtaposition of movement and colour. The idea of colour washing over you really triggers the imagination. I hope things have evened out for you. All the very best.

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  13. Andrea, I absolutely LOVED this poem....how you brought 'color' back into your life and threw out some of the old gray that didn't work for you any more. And good for you for buying those salmon pants!

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  14. great last line! Hope you are enjoying your new salmon colored pants!!

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  15. I read this rather unemotionally thinking as if it was talking about me. Then that last line . . . moved me to tears.

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  16. Thank you all so much for your responses! This was just a little happy moment that I was celebrating and now I'm celebrating a little bit more.

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  17. I like this poem.It is beautiful and make me fell better.

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