Red Interlude

after "Bluest Nude" by Ama Codjoe

Painting by Danielle Mckinney

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The brief red of a dusk you witnessed

from the backseat of a car. The red apple

you bit and whose flesh you spat out, sickened.

The red blush no one can see, your face 

hot to touch. Red blood under dark skin. 

Red blood against pavement. Red blood 

on white sheets. The red we crave

and the red we shun. The red stain 

on a pink tongue. Red bird in the backyard,

an augury of rain. Red lights flashing

in your eyes. Your grandmother’s red dress 

in the photograph. What was once red

now faded to pink and then—finally—to white.

The red house where you might have lived once. 

When you ride past it, you finally realize 

that it was always brown.

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