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Your World in Colors

by Elektra


I watched as your blood turned black.

It's only a matter of time until your eyes turn orange,

you'd only see shades of tangerine and autumn leaves.

I'll sing to you, and explain what colors you're missing out on,

I'd tell you how the trees are the same shade as my eyes,

that the sky is as blue as your smile.

And when my little brother asks, I'll tell him you're fine.

I'll save him from the heartache of knowing that

you'll leave us one day.

I'll tell him that you don't see in monotone oranges,

that you're just experiencing a spiritual change.

In a few weeks, your hair will turn white.

Like the dove you have tattooed on your wrist,

it will represent that you've come to terms with your ending.

I'll still braid your hair, and wash it since it's hard to lift your arms,

and I'll massage your scalp until you tap me in satisfaction.

But it's hard, especially when to you, I'm yellow.

The color of anxiety, mixed into a pot and seasoned with hate.

You tell me my skin is the color of amber,

and I always smile and say "I know."

In all honesty, I'm sorry for being the color yellow.

Because deep down, I wish I could be your green,

the shade of renewal, of life returning after the storm.

Or your red, the color of passion and love that never fades.

But I'll always remain your yellow, a hue that reflects my fears.

When your world faded to black,

I couldn't change the color of my soul to heal yours. 

______________________________________________________________________________

Author's Note: All of the grammar, punctuation, and organization of stanzas in this poem are intentional. So please, no reviews on that.  This poem was written about my mother, who is struggling with schizophrenia and dementia. It was pretty hard for me to write this, as not many people know about her situation. I hope that you all enjoyed <3 


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Sat Jun 29, 2024 2:26 pm
One2Three says...



This is so beautiful Ley. Having a mother with dementia and schizophrenia is so heart breaking. I loved the way you used colors to describe all the things that were happening. I am actually not very good in poetry, just can't figure out the motivation, you know? But still, a wonderful poem and also my regards to your mom.

Wit love and hearts
One2Three




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Thu Jun 20, 2024 11:14 pm
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KaeRae88 says...



Wow. This poem really tugged on my heart strings 😭




Elektra says...


<33



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Thu Jun 20, 2024 9:39 pm
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Inferno wrote a review...



Just dropping by for a quick review...ish?

Oh, Ley.
This is such a sweet and poetic piece. Thank you for being vunerable and sharing this. This is so relatable for me. I have a grandpa who has Alzheimer's Disease and very advanced dementia. He doesn't know who I am, or who any of my family are. He can't speak in complete sentences, or stand up without aid. This poem almost brought me to tears. How you pour out your emotions in it is so touching. I love how you translated colors as emotions and feelings. The depth of this is so amazing, I absolutely loved it.

When life gets hard, just know that I'm here if you need to vent on me (if you're comfortable) Always know that you are not alone in this. There are people walking through similar hardships who feels you and understands you. If any sense of isolation or depresion tries to attack you, remember that there are people here for you. You are not alone.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ley, for writing this beautiful work. It was an absolutely heartfelt and overall amazing expression of emotions. Keep writing.

Inferno :smt023




Elektra says...


Aw omg, you're gonna make me cry :') thank you for this beautiful review. I'm sorry about your grandfather, dementia is such a hard thing for us onlookers, especially when It's family. <3 If you ever need to talk as well, please don't hesitate to PM me <333



Inferno says...


<33333



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Thu Jun 20, 2024 9:32 pm
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EllieMae wrote a review...



Image

Hi Ley! I always enjoy reading your poetry, so I thought I would write you a review and leave some thoughts for you. You mentioned at the end of the poem that all of the punctuation, grammar, and organization of stanzas are intentional, so I won't offer feedback on that, besides my symbolic interpretations of these specific choices. First of all, wow, like you said, this mush have been very difficult to write and I am sorry that you are dealing with this <33 <33

So I see a lot of symbolism in this poem, expressed through colors. The first line in this poem is about watching you mothers blood turn black, which is something we return to in the last two lines. This blackness seems unchangeable. To me, it represents this darkness that has overpowered all of the other colors that cannot be seen anymore, which are mentioned throughout the poem.

I'll sing to you, and explain what colors you're missing out on,

I'd tell you how the trees are the same shade as my eyes,

that the sky is as blue as your smile.


We hear about all of these colors that she will not be able to see anymore/ cant see. Though we see some descriptions like 'sky as blue as your smile'. These descriptions seem highly symbolic to me. Maybe this represents some sort of distortion between different aspects of reality, or it could be fabrication or lies to make someone happy, or the colors themself could be symbolic. Blue could represent the sea, freedom, the sky, air and flying away- it could mean so much and I think all of the specifics are personal to you.

We do see some specific color explanations in these verse:

Because deep down, I wish I could be your green,

the shade of renewal, of life returning after the storm.

Or your red, the color of passion and love that never fades.

But I'll always remain your yellow, a hue that reflects my fears.


I love the connection of deep down desires that you posses, being connected to your mother and then being tied back to your own fears. I want to comment on these verses and say that I really like the vocabulary that you chose to use in this poem. It is not overcomplicated. The main focus is on the symbols and the reflections and emotions that you are experiencing, imagining the future while existing in the present. But you add these subtle words that stand out to me, like 'hue'. Wonderful job!

As I mentioned earlier, you do a wonderful job tying the first and last lines together, retuning and starting with this blackness. it is almost like everything we know is trapped in it- living it it, but we don't even realize we are living in it until we become aware, at the very end. Great work <33

Your friend,
Ellie

Image




Elektra says...


Thank you so much for this awesome review, Ellie <333




Goos are anarchists.
— WeepingWisteria