The Power of Red

Red is, in one word, intense
It is chic red dresses and vermillion lips and roses 
It’s the start of the rainbow and the blushing cheeks of the easily embarrassed
It’s the sunset on a scorching day in July
It is lifeguards and stop signs and taillights and first aid

But red is also danger and rage and blood
It is fire and poisonous animals and red flag warning signs
It is the color your fingers turn
when they start to hurt from the cold
It is the color of the flag in bull-fighting and big red buttons that
You’re never allowed to push
It is hot peppers and poisonous mushrooms and the fiery pits of the underworld 
Red is, in one word, intense
 

Margaret S.

VT

18 years old

More by Margaret S.

  • the beach

    the beach 
    a theme written about so often
    that it may seem overdone
    boring, even
    who doesn’t like the beach?

    but the beach is so much more
    than poems 
    so much more than pictures 
    it is a feeling 
  • Solo

    Running through the woods, away from it all
    Her feet pounding like drums and her heart beating a fast tempo
    Away from all the noise, from the music in her head that was so hard to escape
  • Sometimes I Wish

    Sometimes I wish people would just insult me, flat-out. 
    Not tiptoeing around their comments and weaving them
    into looks and gestures

    Sometimes I wish I could scream, 
    “Just tell me you don’t like me”