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Sep 12
poem 2 comments
lila woodard

RED IS THE COLOR OF LIES

Red is the color of lies.
It looks me right in the face and it tells me
that it is the color of love, the color of bood
the very thing that keeps me alive.
Red tells me not to fear it, then it jumps out at me,
Its eyes flickering with joy at the thought of me breaking. 
Red lurks behind every door and corner waiting to say hello.
Red screams at me, Red laughs when I fall.
Red leaves scars that bleed through my fragile ivory skin.
Red makes me feel unhuman, because Red lies.
Red lies to me because it can.
Red lies to you, Red is bold.
Red is the color of fire, raging and uncontrollable.
Red is the color of irises consumed by guilt.
Red swallows, Red rages, Red yells.
Red demands to be heard.
Red sneaks into my dreams
and takes me apart from the inside. 
Red removes my lungs and replaces them with iron weights,
Red warms your feet, then burns them.
Red lies about the woman at the store begging for money.
Red tells you that she's fine.
Red tells you to look down and ignore her.
Red is the color of my demons.
Red is standing infront of a crowd and saying 
"This is me!"
Red is screaming into a microphone
only to have a stuttered apology be heard. 
Red hides under your bed,
waiting for you to forget about it
just so that it can make you remember.
Red is a liar, Red is a cheat.
Red is a mean, two-sided and ugly version of everyone.
On some days, Red controls me.
it takes advantage of me, 
Red drags me behind it as it runs at full speed
Stopping aruptly so that I crash into it.
On other days, Red can't get to me.
Those are the days that I find Blue.
I find a purple balance.
I become a sunset, I become a galaxy.
Swirling with stars, a never ending mystery. 
I become myself, because purple is the real me.
The one that is not controlled by lies and cheating.
Not controlled by violence and anger.
I become the one that does not give in.
On those days, I find myself.

 

 
 
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Posted: 09.12.17
About the Author: lila woodard
'But to make yourself feel nothing - so as not to feel anything - what a waste!' - Andre Aciman, Call Me By Your Name
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Discussion

Comments

  1. katyturner
    Sep 12, 2017

    Amazing repetition here. I'm a huge sucker for repetition in general and think it's one of the most powerful tools in writing! I think it adds such a cool connective quality to this piece and also an "amped-up" sense that allows you to build and build as you go. "Red hides under your bed, / waiting for you to forget about it" is so beautiful!

    It might be cool to play around with the pacing of repetition, either here or in other pieces. I really love, for example, how you have a longer, more drawn-out mention of "Red" throughout the first few lines. It might be cool to include a few more "red" examples at the beginning that take up 2 or 3 lines to explain. THEN you could move into the rapid-fire "red is this, red is that" lines that make it so powerful.

    Pacing of repetition basically just allows us to build up to it, and sometimes it makes the repetition feel "earned" or gives the poem a feeling of tumbling/spiraling. Just something to think about!

    Again, I love this. Really creative and with thoughts that move all over the place in a great way.

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  1. lila woodard
    Sep 13, 2017

    Thanks for the great feedback. I will for sure take another look at it and revise with your suggestions in mind.

    'But to make yourself feel nothing - so as not to feel anything - what a waste!' - Andre Aciman, Call Me By Your Name

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