Lending Color to the Otherwise Absurd

By Emily Thornton Calvo

"Lending Color to the Otherwise Absurd" is a collection of poems and paintings that incorporate the poems into the art--both art and poetry are the works of the author. Subjects reflect insights into family, travel, politics and abstract concepts. There's humor, wisdom and adventure interpreted both visually and verbally. Calvo's two cancer diagnoses also inspire opportunities for reflection. Overall, the book invites readers to look at life differently; to take life's absurdities, turn them upside down and move on a little stronger.
Long eBook Description

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781631923104

Book preview

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PRIMARY COLORS

UNCOMPLIMENTARY COLORS

He? He was blue,

not sad, just deep as a sapphire night sky,

soft and warm indigo velvet hugs

serene as a low flame, and always dancing

cool, white blue—ice and dove feathers

but durable as denim.

He was a cyan sky touching the ends of the earth

and reaching for stars.

She? She was yellow,

not cowardly, just dignified

regal polished brass,

rigid as the yellow line on the median,

duty-bound as tomorrow’s golden sunrise,

grounded as a radiant daffodil,

fresh and sassy as lemonade,

hopeful as a sunbeam.

When their colors eclipsed

I was born.

He painted me

with a light brush stroke,

a wisp of color in motion

guided by emotion—

I delighted in unplanned road trips with no map,

where he spontaneously detoured

for scenic routes, laughter

and late-night philosophy.

She measured me

with rules: yellow lines

divided right from wrong.

She drew confidence from routine—

four food groups at five,

iron creases in white blouses.

My neck jerked with every brushstroke

as she gathered hair into firm braids

and I stood eager to break free.

She held me so tightly,

so tightly,

with the mighty grip of a mother’s fears,

so tightly that I turned—blue.

FOR THE LONG HAUL

Childhood vacations never required a passport

only our wood-paneled Plymouth, summer clothes

and a call to Grandma’s.

A brown bag held staples: crayons and paper,

Barbie and Wonder bread

a thermos of Kool-Aid

and warm bananas whose scent mingled with evening’s dew

from the wet cornfields along the highway.

Mile after mile,

the landscape altered

from concrete to red rock,

from prairie to Mississippi marsh.

Mile after mile

brothers bantered

while Mom’s voice rose caustic, then