A Vermillion

Vermillion, Vermillion
red robes have ascension
my depth grabs attention
I’m sacred, solemn, ancient, wise.
Vermillion, Vermillion
the devil’s disguise.

Vermillion, Vermillion
clear toxic hue,
a darkening defect,
I’m prone to the bruise.

Vermillion, Vermillion
the walls of your tomb
the flowers aflame
your cinnabarian womb

Vermillion, Vermillion
Chinese red
the color of vitality
consume me, you’re dead

Vermillion, Vermillion
a sindoor part for a married head
the southern bird, the orange-red
I coat the chapel of your mouth
Vermillion, Vermillion
the most brilliant red.

Today at d’Verse Mish poses a great challenge for us to write as a color, either confirming or defying stereotypes.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

19 responses to “A Vermillion”

johnlmalone

an exciting and brilliant piece: ‘your cinnabarian womb’, ‘I coat the chapel of your mouth’ : such startling images !!

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Thank you. I wrote the first part of her before bed, several lines during sleep penned in my journal, so I had to finish’er off this morning first thing, so she’d leave me alone.
  
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Hobbo

Brilliant, and thanks for the education, cinnabar and sindoor both new to me.

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Thanks for reading abs commenting. The sindoor of married women popped up when I searched my color, so it was new to me too.
  
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  1. Hobbo
    
    I enjoy being educated whilst I read/write!
    
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robtkistner

Love your grasp of vermillion here K — great color, fine wtite. FYI — I had a helluva a time getting to your site, your post at dVerse didn’t link here for me? I actually got here going through a comment you left.

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Thank you, kindly Rob. So sorry my link didn’t work. I posted early this morning, so maybe I added the wrong link. No more creativity before coffee. Anyways, I’m glad you made it here.
  
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Björn Rudberg (brudberg)

I have now corrected your link at Mr Linky… loved your poem, and the color itself is both wonderful and slightly sinister… I think of an inquisitor’s robe…

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Many thanks for the repair and the kind comments. The color was an instant decision, but some of the imagery was investigated. Cheers!
  
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rothpoetry

An interesting write! Brilliant red is a wonderful color! Well done.

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Thank you kindly, Dwight. I’m really enjoying the d’verse community and the great prompts.
  
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  1. rothpoetry
    
    I have participated for a few years now and it is a great group of folks.
    
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  2. K.Hartless
    
    The prompts are detailed and appeal to my love of literature. The details sometimes come out a bit late for my time zone, but it seems fine to post the next day or beyond.
    
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  3. rothpoetry
    
    Yes, a number of folks don’t post till the next morning here!
    
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msjadeli

Vermillion is pretty and lively with a hint of danger. My grandma used to have lipstick that color.

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Great insights, thank you for connecting with my piece. What a terrific name for a lipstick. It should return in popularity, as should the word vermillion.
  
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  1. msjadeli
    
    You’re welcome and yes it should!
    
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Mish

Such a treat to read aloud. I like the repetition of “vermillion”….vibrant in color and sound.

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Yes, it was the sound of the color that first attracted me to it. Thank you, kindly, Mish.
  
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