june 3rd, 1986. 

 

You were in all

the old records I listened too,

my favourite character

in each book I read,

and the landmark

of each place I visited.

It always felt right.  

 

Somehow, I have never met you.

Your name is a whisper

I can’t quite make out.

Your face is a blur

I can’t distinguish. 

My life remains in

black and white.

 

My mother made it clear;

Meeting you would give me life.

Father then clarified:

I would finally see the world

for all its glory. 

I still haven’t seen your face. 

 

november 26th, 1987 

 

There is a pulse that echoes

of you and I. 

I had never seen you-

never heard you,

yet I still knew you.

 

When we met,

I felt music in your laughter.

You pointed out my nail colour-

red- 

I hadn’t noticed before. 

 

We went on a boat ride,

our first night together. 

Pointing out the lake; the way it sparkled.

It is because of you, I said.

It’s for you, you said. 

I understood the love

this world could hold. 

 

april 6th, 2007. 

 

You laid in bed:

we both knew. 

It was time, you said.

it isn’t fair.

It was our last night.

I couldn’t go back to a world

of black and white.

A world, without you. 

 

Looking at memories of 

that first boat ride.

Painting my nails red;

it was your favourite colour.

Talking of how the lake wouldn’t sparkle

Because of him

and for me. 

 

You took your last breath with

one last look

at my red nail polish.

I vowed to never leave them unpainted.

I would never forget

the colour you brought to my life.

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This poem started off as a short story idea: living in a world of black and white until you meet your soul mate and your world becomes coloured. However, when I was writing it all out, I started to see more poetic verses and ideas which led me to the final composition of this poem. The title represents the specific line, “You pointed out my nail colour-/-red/I hadn’t noticed before.”, which was symbolic of the colour being present after meeting your soulmate, which was repeated again towards the end when one of the lovers was passing away, which would result in the others world going back to black and white. This poem was inspired by an idea thought of from a combination of Lang Leav’s poem “Stardust” which was emulated in the line “there is a pulse/that echoes/of you and I” and the song Breaks My Heart Right written by James Bay. Combined, it gave me the idea to embody the gain and loss of your soul mate through the use of colour. 

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