The color of truth and loyalty,

of music and despair,

of cool shadow and faded jeans.

The color of periwinkles and forget-me-nots,

of jays and buntings,

of whales and damselflies.

The color of my mother’s eyes.

The color of topaz and tourmalines,

of the trapped hearts of glaciers,

of the birdbath beneath the maple.

The color of ink and smoke,

of Persians and water,

of the singular month’s twice full moon.

The color of this morning’s uninterrupted

Summer sky stretched overhead

like a promise.

–C.Birde