The Color

By Juanita Rey [Winner: 3rd Place]

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When you see me flush

my birth control pills

down the toilet,

then you can be concerned.

Or if I peel the tangerine

with the edge of my fingernail

or dress up in a sparkling blue kickass gown

and don’t tell you where I’m going.

It’s got nothing to do

with drunken binges,

or crying fits

or tossing plates

against the kitchen wall.

But if the bowl empties

like the blood in my face

or the fruit’s more red

than the tongue that licks it

or that dress gleams brighter

than my eyes can manage –

then there’s the door,

a whole world of color waiting.