Colorblind Test 

A churning pool of green and blue dots

Spoke to me in my youth.

Normalcy lay within its portents;

Its borders filled with judgment.

“Who you are is what you cannot see,”

Came the lurid voice

Out of the color-stained depths.

The invisible number seared my retinas

Like a brand.

A label to filter my perception.

Crayon scenes and lucid dreams

Were drained of their luster.

Traffic lights slipped into obscurity.

My world of color was hurled to the wall,

Its painted imaginings dripping into insignificance.

But no tears leaked from my color-dumb eyes.

The burden of color is light.

Things are what they are

And nothing more. 

---

The Death I Know 

My mother greeted Death

And I watched.

That face of pallid compassion

Emerging through the door.

His approach slow and considerate.

Those haunted eyes searched her wasted form,

A ripe soul in her spent body.

He lifted her into his quiet arms,

Worn thin by the ravages of sorrow.

The faintest smile graced her lips.

Her gentle demise complete. 

---

Hairstyle Dominion 

Shears of conformity clip the well-earned shag.

Clumps of rebellion fall to the floor.

The sound of scissors bores into my ears.

Itch. Itch. Itch.

Restraint looks good with gel in it.