by Anne Leigh Parrish
denial of our plainness
you fade from view
leave a hint of mauve & green
we’re showgirls
platinum hair
pencil skirts in the daylight
not much on stage
guys & dolls
you hand me the coleus to transplant
its roots dangle like lost thoughts
white border on its leaves
the color of a
winter moon
you choose pearls plucked
from a warm sea
pink will never be mauve
gray only touches green
how dear, that strange desire tinged with blue
we dress for dinner
i choose black for its slimming effect
you go with a red skirt & green shoes to
celebrate the season
the denial of our plainness
softened by the sky’s purple song
***
lifting brightness
where the road bends west, the sky opens
& the trees stand down for a while
its light says it hangs over water
you know what i mean by that
a lifting brightness
not like a smile, more like
an idea of how things might be, or
were in an easier time
i love that wide stretch above us
how it invites us to something better
to be better, in ourselves.
Image: Veeterzy via Pexels
Editors’ note: These poems originally appeared at the Olympia Poetry Network.
