Think of the colour of dusk
On a stormy February day-
The bruised sky, pained, worn, drawn.
That is the colour of your coma.
Forget-me-never eyes
Hidden beneath tissue thin
Putty blue lids, quivering
Shivering with who knows what dreams.
Throat, struggling to recover
The gift of a swallow.
Lips, violet tinged
Sealed with a slim
Shadow of your smile.
Imagine cool , blue, pack ice –
Its quality of waiting.
That is the blue of your hands.
Veins – lace with indigo thread,
Deep beneath the surface.
Nails, ashen, celadon
Tips scratching a slow
Dance on stiff, over-laundered sheet.
Baby blue counterpane
Obscures your sunken body
Shades your self.
Dream of cartoon coloured skies –
The play of sun on
cobalt ocean as you sleep,
Seep into the blue yonder
That only you can see.
Breathe your final, thistledown breath
As we whisper smoke hued farewells,
Slip on the lavender cloak
Of grief
Sally J Blackmore's Blog 
Yellow
It gathered on the back of your tongue
and in your throat
The crust of respiratory failure.
and we watched
and we spoke
and we cried
and wet that cracked mouth
and let drugs
ease your restlessness.
You struggled out of this life
as you struggled in it.
I thought of helping you,
with a pillow or a tight hug;
but I was as yellow
as your closing airway.
beautiful Lesley – you understand painfully well. poetry helps sometimes doesn’t it?
yes I believe it does……
whew…my heart caught at coma…then the imagery of the eyes…ugh…heavy feelings emenate from this one…
Thank you for reading and commenting Brian and Dustus. I had been writing studies on the colour blue when a family member reached the end of her life, and this poem was born.
Such a vibrant array of colorful language invoking strong feelings through vivid imagery.
I think such a sad poem can only be written with love.
thank you Jill…love tinged with hope that thereis something afterwards…
Think of the colour of dusk
On a stormy February day-
The bruised sky, pained, worn, drawn.
That is the colour of your coma.
Each stanza stands alone and is so filled with emotion-packed, graphic imagery. The four lines I selected are sufficient to keep my mind focused on the value and importance of today and every life in it.
Your words captured the moment like a camera never could.
Thank you Tolbert for reading and commenting on the poem. You are right about each stanza’s ability to stand alone – all my poetry seems to be too chock full of images for comfortable reading. so I am immersing myself in Imagist poetry in the hope of simplifying what I write!
It is very good.
…Imagine cool , blue, pack ice –
Its quality of waiting…
I am both the watcher and the watched, existing in the space between…a lovers’ words, I wish I had uttered.
You tear at it with color and image, blue, cobalt, lavender, and you cloak them under grief.
It’s excellent.
Kolembo, thank you for reading this and for your great comment. I am glad you enjoyed (if that is the right word) the poem. I wasn’t sure if it was in its final state, but now I believe it may be.
It very good.
…Imagine cool , blue, pack ice –
Its quality of waiting…
You place me between the watcher and the watched, I am the words a lover wished they’d uttered. And then you tear it into colour and image, blue and cobalt and lavender, all of it lost to blackness.
wow..
well captured sentiments..
love the imagery.
Please feel free to share 1 to 3 poems with our potluck poetry today, first time participants could use old poems or poems unrelated to our theme, Thanks..
Happy Monday!
Thank you for reading and for your appreciation – will have a good look at Jingle poetry with a view to sharing a poem or two.
Sally, this is a moving, stirring piece of free verse, but it’s linked up to the Triolet on the osp website, are you sure you meant us to read this?
Thank you for sharing regardless x
Oh dear – I must have linked it badly – sorry – there is a triolet here somewhere – it is today’s post. Sorry to get it wrong. As for sharing End of days, I am very happy for it to be read
Thoughtful, able use of description and concept/idea. Exemplary stuff.
Thank you for reading and commenting…colour was much on my mind when iI wrote this.