Somewhere Kind of Blue

in the art museum

i find myself

fascinated by

Ming dynasty pottery

i lean indecorously close

to the clear glass case

to see a tripod drinking cup

the label calls its dulcet color

Sacrificial Blue

//

it’s something like navy

but closer to cobalt

somewhere between the color

of my American passport

and the undressed cover

of the book in my scarlet satchel

the same hue as my indigo denim

//

we take a train to the coast

giddy when we meet the waves

water crashes white and gray

on the basalt rock of a Scottish beach

under an endless squally sky

she sings the chorus of a song

from a gray and grainy

Frank Sinatra film

//

We joined the Navy

To see the world

And what did we see?

We saw the sea

//

i want to see the world

beyond my two homes

swim in remote seas

sleep under distant skies

each an exclusive blue

glazed in crystalline clarity or humid haze

//

outside my tenement window in Glasgow

the blue is rare and argent

always crowded by clouds

the sun is desultory and precious

//

in Albuquerque the blue is deep and electric

the edges of adobes buzz against it

Guadalupe Blue doors and shutters

painted to match the cerulean ether

//

Sacrificial Blue is the color

of the sky map app on my phone

i use to study the stars

watching the planets

emerge above the horizon

into navy-blue atmosphere

it’s the color of my lover’s t-shirt

he strips it off with one hand

(a move i always find enthralling)

before crawling into bed beside me

it’s the color of the velveteen blanket

our cats curl up on at our feet

when we say goodnight