Yellow

I used to hate the colour yellow

I thought it was obnoxious, too bright, too optimistic

And I, a pessimist, could not fathom

How someone could be drawn to it

But when you said it was your favourite colour,

I knew there was something I’d missed

I began to see it everywhere;

In the bees, the pollen, the sunrise and sunset

In dappled light on the forest floor and in birds’ wings

I’d see you in every shade and think

How could I ever hate something so beautiful?

Like a moth to a flame, I fell in love with it as I did with you

It takes time to reconcile with such a joyful colour

But I’m learning to love yellow again

How it glitters on the water

And lights up the shadows at dawn

I turn my face up to the sun and feel its warmth

And breathe in the scents of summer.