The Opposition of Colour

The parade is an explosion of colour

Celebratory wonder and an ability to be

Ourselves, without remembering the somber

Reasons for why we need the serenity

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We wear the colours of our lives on our sleeves

In our hair and in our makeup

While we dance and shout away the eves

In which we hoped we might never wake up

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When I see red, my heart beats faster

Is it love, violence, or justice I am after?

Red reminds us of where the lands we walk on came from

To me, when asked what red means? I can’t help but ho-hum

It paints a picture of what the trials of growing up mean to some

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Orange is an expanse, both in canyons and sunrises

It is the zest of an orange’s skin leaving bitter surprises

And the citrusy tang found in its juice

Orange is the feeling I get when my hard work crescendos

And I can breathe easy; But it isn’t the end, I know

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When I see the colour yellow, I think of sunshine

Flowers and bees and honey that was once mine

But I also think of bruises, in a cosmic pattern aligned

A reminder of wars fought and days brought

Short, but their memory is as tall as a sunflower grows

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Green is a colour in which I have envy

It has said nothing to me, and yet I am angry

It represents a colourway full of life and love and promise

But a combination of a bad mama and the Earth’s ongoing drama

Has taught me that green will never be a colour in which I can take solace

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Blue is a colossus, its power undeniable

It can be waves, caves, graves, and the beginning signs of old age

Instances and hues of blue can certainly be confined to no cage

Blue can be mountains or the sea, ripe blueberries, or leaves

Blue truly is a colour with which I have no peeves

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Purple is full of lavender fields, twilight waters, and lilac skies

I have always yearned to call purple mine

It is mystic and elusive; Dark and yet light

It is a colour that makes many a person’s days warm and bright

It might even be the first colour you see when you wake up from a good night

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Yet even with all of these colours dancing about in my mind

I know there is no end to the paintings they make when combined

Life is full of colour, both boundless and bright

Flitting through the colours of our everyday lives

Just goes to show us that many will stay out of sight

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A colour to me doesn’t mean the same thing as it does to you

Even though we are taught that our emotions have certain hues

The most important part of partaking in colours old and new,

Is honouring what they mean and the impact they have on you