Red, I don't like the color red
the color of blood –
of relief and release and regret
and broken promises.
The color of cherries, pomegranates
temptation, alluring –
[you can't leave once you've tasted
the forbidden.]
Bright cheap candy,
chemicals disguised
as cherries or apples
[they still taste
of chemicals] –
nostalgic poison.
Clichéd passion,
lips spilling sentiments
[overused and worn into
blank words without meaning],
manufactured scarlet in the darkness.
Roses, fading
bitter and rotting;
[they still smell
of childhood.]
Red, like rusting razor blades,
unused for a while
[but waiting, luring]
gambling, taking
cheap synthetic opiates
promising red.
Red like a heart
torn violently from its bone prison;
[would it make you immortal?]
[you've devoured the rest of me,
and smile, mouth stained red.]