WHEN COLOURS BLEED TO GREY

For me, one of the most frightening
Colours of all tends to be grey
Shades of grey but not so much the
Lovely ones, like, dove, slate,
Smoke, ash, or silver; even some pale
Lilacs, I find lean a little into the grey
Palette, when I’m inclined to paint

No, the greys I fear, are more those
Reminiscent of the old black and white
Television shows – the faded, no colour
Look of them that happens to my life
When I feel my mood shifting and I can
Sense another spiralling down into that
Place where even colour dares not come

In fact, the blood-letting of colour is
Usually my first real symptom of being
Beset by yet another time of going down
Sometimes I don’t notice it right away
Or maybe I won’t let myself notice it so
Play all the games I’ve learned over the years
To put in place, to keep from noticing

Tell myself I need to get my eyes checked
There’s something wrong with my vision
Everything’s starting to look so washed out
Then try not to think about it – all the while
Seeing things grow fainter and more indistinct
Until finally, from my cave on the couch
Where I am starting to stay more and more
I have to acknowledge, everything is grey
Everything.

S.E.Ingraham©