P I N K :

A Series of Heartbreak Haikus

The day I moved in,

I covered all the walls in

a light, blushing pink.

I bought the supplies

from a hardware store nearby.

Semi-gloss finish.

“Oh, how exciting!”

said the sales associate.

“You’re having a girl!”

She saw my belly,

flat as it had ever been

(or so I had thought)

and assumed: baby.

Why do you suppose that is?

Maybe the rumor

that pink is for the

little; the young; the demure.

Polished and perfect.

That pink equals soft;

that pink equals delicate

femininity.

She thought: nursery.

But no. This pink was for me

and only me. See—

I had been planning

to commandeer this plaster

for a good, long while.

To take a rental

and turn it into something

that was almost mine.

Something that could catch

the south-facing sun; the warmth

in all the mundane.

That’s what pink can do:

bring a white void to new life

with a drop of red.

And looking at it

morning, noon and night each day

I would remember:

That’s what I can do.

Impose a new energy;

infuse a little

spark into sadness.

I had never lived alone;

I did not choose it.

But I chose this pink

for every inch of this place

and it felt like me.

It felt like a smile

and a flipped middle finger

all wrapped into one,

tied up in a bow,

framing the picture window—

my new favorite view.

Anything but soft,

pink is just a different way

to say “resilience.”

Pink equals immense,

intense, strong and determined

to make things better.

There have been a few

times I walk past that old place

and see that old pink,

glowing and pristine;

preserved by my successors

in all its glory.

I’m glad they kept it,

because that means they love it

just like I loved it.

Maybe they need it.

Maybe they are resenting

being alone, too.

And maybe the pink

will remind them that they aren’t.

They just need to paint.

I wrote this poem on May 13, 2021 as part of a poetry contest sponsored by Vocal and Moleskine. The prompt read, “Write about something that makes you unique, inspired by the idea of color.” I chose to post it here in October because that’s the month it’s really about.