I am Red

I am Red, locks of fire and copper.

Like the colour of apricots in the morning

And, in the sultry evenings, the sensual red of a merlot.

Combustible by nature and corroding like rust,

A glorious crown of honey and embers.

***

I am Red, fox-red and wild.

Like sparks smouldering, quietly hoping for more

Or, other times raging, in a violent awakening of self.

Rubies ablaze with boldness and unruly beauty

Sigh and tell of age-old regrets.

***

I am Red, molten like danger.

Like the fiery fervour that ignites to stir passions

And anger, like the macabre fear of a matador's cape.

The grotesque garnet hues flash and twist in savage brilliance,

Dismayed, I turn away to weep.

***

I am Red, wild poppies mourning.

Like the scarlet bloodline of a thousand dreaming souls

And an ancestral memory, elusive, like catching a whisper.

An eternal pulse unwavering and courageous,

It beats a lonely song in me.

***

I am Red, the rose that charms and pricks.

Cherry red like the ripeness of berries, sweet yet sour

And scorching, like every desire that ever called to me.

I have taken the longings that dared to seduce me,

And they have become my lover.

***

I am Red, the sun a sinking orb.

Golds that once lit shadows, now cool the bewildered earth

And kiss me farewell, to embrace the carnelian nightfall.

Lost in that silent place of reflection, at the day's end

Where life and dreams entwine.