Seven Shades of Blue

Seven Shades of Blue

         I knew seven shades of blue
                   before I met you.
                   No other colors were coming through.
                   You introduced me to your heart
                   and claimed you were my counterpart.

         Seasons changed and so did I.
                   Where you lived behind my eyes
                   poems seemed to multiply.
                   A strange, smeared palette, a waxing world,
                   and the pillowed comfort of the perfect girl.

         When I could no longer touch the ground
                   or follow warm small thoughts around
                   you cried to me with silent sounds.
                   But busy with a life on stage
                   I lived inside my velvet cage

         Then stumbled to my knees and
                   wailed, lost all will to reason.
                   Love can be such a cruel season.
                   Hard to hold like water in my hand,
                   a xeriscape of affection I never planned.


September 29, 2009
Arlington, Virginia
written at the Pentagon memorial