Essence is essence and flat as I might feel shadow reveals otherwise; such is the mystery of life
Orange is my essence – the promise of sunshine and creativity, and… I envy blue its expansiveness
Constrained as I am by conformity – this silver-framed existence a settling
But shadows don’t settle they stretch and bend and exclaim rebellion savagely defending essence.
(Slanted Orange was written in 2022 as a collaborative effort with a local photographer. The efforts of our poetry group are published in a book called the Minimalist Eye. Click here to see the whole collection as well as the photographs that inspired each poem. I’ve used my own art for this post.)