Page 23 - Solstice Art & Literary Magazine 2021
P. 23
PURPLE
SAMIR MIRZA
On the morning of the day that I turned 18
The first thing I saw in the mirror was the color purple
It stared at me with an uncertain gaze
And a trembling smile that didn’t quite reach the eyes But a smile nonetheless
The first song that I listened to was the color purple
It had the unsteady, oscillating beat of a drum
The mourns of strings
And a soft, hopeful flute somewhere out in the distance The singer croons in my ear of violets and lavenders Singing of being ready to move on
But not quite ready to let go
And so when my friend asks me what it feels like to turn 18 I tell them it feels like purple
Because there is no color that tastes quite as bittersweet As the color purple.
POMEGRANATE • GABBY VAN FLEET
Watercolor • 20”x16”
18
