1. The Lavender Man
The Lavender Man returns from a long day at work
Drops his briefcase on the ground
And collapses onto his bed
When he breathes, there is no air,
But a milky lavender haze, a sweet,
suffocating gas
It sets in around him as sinks into the sheets
Sheets don’t Demand, Expect
Imply
Simply accept
cradle
These are my sheets too
His aren’t actually lavender, they are
Red, Green and White plaid, a sickly
Christmasy concoction
Reminiscent of many shades of dominance
But they may as well be lavender
For they envelope him in their warmth
Safety in solitude, in silence
A numbing paralysis
Within this nest, all is soft and plushy
An incubator against the screams outside his window
No hard edges
A stolen uterus
A sack of embryonic fluid
Giving, giving, giving
Lavender always a subtle grey undertone
Dullness sneakily blended into beauty with a palette knife
This is an addictive oblivion
I try to dump colors upon colors on him
Strip the sprinkles off my ice cream
Hand them to him in my cupped hands
Hoards of rainbow confetti
Iridescent happy face stickers in jewel-tones
Neon pink anime characters with their
Bulging eyes and laffy taffy smiles
Technicolor Riopelles and Rileys stolen off museum walls
Just for you

2. But still he remains lavender
A static, defeated Rothko
A sheepish half smile
A startling discontent
But who are you to be acting like this
The only one with the privilege to, I suppose
I know you feel the same way as the rest of us
I know you feel limp, powerless
Yet, you are not the same
You are not really lavender, but the most acceptable shade of ivory
Unquestioned, your body remains intact, untrampled
With your pale face and your broad shoulders
You Must do something
If you accept defeat, if you my lavender man
rely on the rest of us
darker,
with smoother curves,
sending money back home,
making beds for the children we hope will eventually come,
waiting for the opportunities we know we deserve,
Fearing staying lavender forever
Or worse yet
allowing the grey to take over
How we will ever get brighter and assume our own colors
Emerge from this murky, overused palette