You are more than the blues you exhale.

You are the cerulean that hides in the sky
and the seas borrow
to drape
               and seduce the sand.
You are the turquoise embedded
in brown rock,
giving it colour,
               beauty
               and a sense of self-worth.

You are more than the blues
that you have been swallowing
silently over the years.

You are every colour of the rainbow
and all their manifold shades
in names as alluring as porcelain,
                                         parchment,
                                         chartreuse
                                         and seafoam.

You are the white feather
of a meditating dove,
the scented lavender
of perfumed winds,
the bloodred heart
that beats loudly for those who loved you,
                                               who left you,
                                               who laughed at you,
                                               but you still bleed for.

You are more than the blues.

You are the new blades of grass,
             the rain-washed world,
             the curls of smoke from hot rice,
             the amber light of chilled apple juice.

In pouring out your tints and shades
to paint the world,
keep some inside for you.

For you are more than the blues.