an advent of color

Color is the place where our brain and the universe meet.
Paul Klee

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(the first signs of spring as seen on the forest floor / Julie Cook / 2014)

As tightly wound fists rubbed sleepy bleary eyes
The senses slumbered for. . .has it been 3 or 4 months?
A cold world lay splayed open, frozen over and bathed in monochromatic tones

White, grey, brown, with every shade in between.
Heads and faces, turned downward, stare blankly at the grey mush underfoot
As all senses lack stimulation.

On a tired grey morning an amazing event transpired
As heavy faces remained downcast, with blank eyes staring emptily at the dead brown leaves,
A tiny piece of life fell from a tree.
What is this new strange object?

What is the word for this new phenomenon, we nervously ask.
Have we forgotten the words which represent this new oddity?
Could the word perhaps be “color?”
Is it red?
Or is it green?
Maybe it is blue?
Delightful words, words such as “bright,” “vibrant,” “saturation”. . .?

The reality of this presumed mirage, observers muse. . .
. . .merely the change of seasons.

The timely new word is Spring!
Marvelously bright and delightfully colorful Spring!
The scales have fallen from our weary bleary eyes and we are, joyously. . .
Amazed!!!

“Color directly influences the soul. Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another purposively, to cause vibrations in the soul.”
― Wassily Kandinsky,

Pretty in Pink

I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.”
Audrey Hepburn

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(Beautiful pink bloom, San Antonio, Texas / Julie Cook / 2014)

Vibrant pink complimenting a lapis lazuli blue sky.
Accents of brown and grey juxtapose a myriad of bursting blooms
For a brief nano moment, which is all that the eye needs in order to swill and mix a fresh blend of pigments, I smile.

Gone is the grey and dirty white of cold.
No more of the monochromatic tones of nothingness.
Clouds scatter revealing pure saturation
The color overload is welcomed and necessary
Eyes must adjust from the world which has been void of tints and shades to the current breathy palate of a spectrum overload

Are not the birds louder?
Is not the air now sweet?
Sun pulls me from the shadows
Canopies of tiny vibrant chartreuse budding leaves dance overhead

Change is in the air.
Electric energy stirs the Earth’s inhabitants
We are all now on the move.
Spring is calling
Can you come out to play?
It beckons.
And I must answer.