Blue Poem

by Caroline Norfleet

I was going to write a poem about the color blue,

but everybody knows

blue is the color

of the sea,

and the sky,

sapphire eyes,

robin’s eggs,

and countless clichés

thrown about in similes.

So maybe I’ll write a poem about the color red,

but I have already strayed

one way to the blood,

violence,

and greed,

or the other way,

to passion,

lust,

and love.

And my yellow poem already reeks

of sunshine,

daisies,

springtime,

and gold,

the territory of other authors,

where they have already placed their flags.

If there was a word

for the reddish-orange

that graces the sky

when it’s too early to be awake,

or the brown-gray of tree bark

in winter,

perhaps I would write about that

before the other poets get to it

leaving me

with a dull copy

like the blue

of a child’s painting

trying to be the sky.

Caroline Norfleet is a high-school freshman, an aspiring polyglot, and generally considered to be a human being.  She is the author of .75 novels, which is what you get when you add up all the embarrassing failed attempts, and also writes short pieces and poems.  She currently resides on the planet Earth, where she spends most of her free time reading and procrastinating.  She lists her greatest accomplishments as learning to play “Cruella de Ville” on the piano and answering the “A Wizard of Earthsea” question for her Academic Challenge team.