Vermillion, Vermillion
red robes have ascension
my depth grabs attention
I’m sacred, solemn, ancient, wise.
Vermillion, Vermillion
the devil’s disguise.
Vermillion, Vermillion
clear toxic hue,
a darkening defect,
I’m prone to the bruise.
Vermillion, Vermillion
the walls of your tomb
the flowers aflame
your cinnabarian womb
Vermillion, Vermillion
Chinese red
the color of vitality
consume me, you’re dead
Vermillion, Vermillion
a sindoor part for a married head
the southern bird, the orange-red
I coat the chapel of your mouth
Vermillion, Vermillion
the most brilliant red.
Today at d’Verse Mish poses a great challenge for us to write as a color, either confirming or defying stereotypes.
Join us at: https://dversepoets.com
Yard Sale of Thoughts 
an exciting and brilliant piece: ‘your cinnabarian womb’, ‘I coat the chapel of your mouth’ : such startling images !!
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Thank you. I wrote the first part of her before bed, several lines during sleep penned in my journal, so I had to finish’er off this morning first thing, so she’d leave me alone.
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Brilliant, and thanks for the education, cinnabar and sindoor both new to me.
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Thanks for reading abs commenting. The sindoor of married women popped up when I searched my color, so it was new to me too.
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I enjoy being educated whilst I read/write!
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Love your grasp of vermillion here K — great color, fine wtite. FYI — I had a helluva a time getting to your site, your post at dVerse didn’t link here for me? I actually got here going through a comment you left.
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Thank you, kindly Rob. So sorry my link didn’t work. I posted early this morning, so maybe I added the wrong link. No more creativity before coffee. Anyways, I’m glad you made it here.
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I have now corrected your link at Mr Linky… loved your poem, and the color itself is both wonderful and slightly sinister… I think of an inquisitor’s robe…
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Many thanks for the repair and the kind comments. The color was an instant decision, but some of the imagery was investigated. Cheers!
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An interesting write! Brilliant red is a wonderful color! Well done.
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Thank you kindly, Dwight. I’m really enjoying the d’verse community and the great prompts.
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I have participated for a few years now and it is a great group of folks.
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The prompts are detailed and appeal to my love of literature. The details sometimes come out a bit late for my time zone, but it seems fine to post the next day or beyond.
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Yes, a number of folks don’t post till the next morning here!
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Vermillion is pretty and lively with a hint of danger. My grandma used to have lipstick that color.
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Great insights, thank you for connecting with my piece. What a terrific name for a lipstick. It should return in popularity, as should the word vermillion.
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You’re welcome and yes it should!
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Such a treat to read aloud. I like the repetition of “vermillion”….vibrant in color and sound.
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Yes, it was the sound of the color that first attracted me to it. Thank you, kindly, Mish.
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