All the Shades

It was the color of every vehicle

my family ever owned.

The first, a pickup the color of the bird,

that sweet bringer of joy and happiness.

The second, a van the color of sky

from which I daydreamed on long drives.

The last, navy. Darker than all the rest.

The van we took our last trip in as a family.



Blue was my mother’s favorite color.

Blue was the color her favorite

singer’s suede shoes.

Blue was the color of the house

my father built for her.

Blue was the color of the tiny vase

I once got her for Mother’s Day.

Blue was the color of her mood

after my father died.

Blue was the color of her new car,

an escort into a new life.

Blue is the color of the flowers

painted on her urn.



©2020 Joanne Young Elliott