Poems

“Crayola Census”

crayons
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“Crayola Census”

 

When I smell colors, this is what I see.

The brown smells like wet cardboard and soggy Rice Krispies languishing in a stodgy bowl in a dirty sink full of dishes.

The black smells like licorice flavored liquor and settled smoke obscuring my vision on a deathly autumn night that seems to last forever.

When I smell colors, this is what I hear.

The white smells like vanilla candles burning special, on vanilla birthday frosted cakes, too, too sweet.

The red smells like angry acne and sweat from a sleepless summer nights of rejected sexual advances, festering in a marriage bed growing toward displeasure.

When I smell colors, this is what I taste.

The blue smells like the mystery of a shadowed ocean being overlooked by a winter’s dark starry night above.

The orange smells like corporate cubicles during rushed at-desk lunches, peels peeled of pride and dead inside, cleaning the clogged dreams with citrus solutions.

When I smell colors, this is what I feel.

The green smells like the verdant vegetative estates of spring sprawling out into the forever, ground up for health drinks consumption.

The purple smells like mountains majesty and spiced plums bruised by vascular varicose varieties.

When I smell colors, this is what I smell.

The peach smells like generalized skin tones of nude pantyhose on a Kmart shelf hanging suggestively from a plastic egg packaging.

The grey smells like the ashes of dead relatives left on counters at mortuaries and funeral parlors sealed with precision so all that is left materially cannot escape order.

 

 

 

 

4 thoughts on ““Crayola Census”

  1. It’s a bit of a transition from eggs over easy to serious writing, but this is good. I always appreciate use of the senses in writing, and color here too. Sad issues are sad, but part of life, I guess.

  2. Actually for me, this may be my favorite piece to read by you. I’ve reread and reread eating it’s wholesomeness like stick to your ribs southern food, till full and burping. Knowing it is time to quit, I save the rest for a midnight snack….

    Only to start again at the beginning again. Or maybe line 16 or whereever my finger lands.

    Cormac McCarthy waves hi, with a trout in his other hand

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