Color in Mind

My son loves colors.  He grabs anything red (hats, scarfs, shoes, shirts, and sunglasses) when adventure is afoot.  I use the blue sky to trigger poems of happiness and to fall in love again.  Since we were children the many colors in a crayon box spark our imaginations.  Colors are promoted in foods for a visual enhancement to the entree.  In poetry adding colors may have the same effect.  They can add a bit of mystery, visual beauty or even flavor to your piece. 

Poets often use their colors to trigger their thinking but colors may also be used as symbols implying intangibles or concepts.

Many of my poems include color and I have put a code to these colors and draw upon them often when writing.  I find that the color makes the piece not only more beautiful but also gentle and smooth.

Here are a few implied meanings for colors found in many poems over the centuries:

green - jealousy, rebirth, money, nature, energy, shyness

purple - fantasy, royalty, enlightenment, uniqueness

pink - fragility, happiness, blossoming, femininity, softness

brown - anew, unclean, earthly qualities, dim

orange -  sunrise, curiosity, wisdom,hopefulness

gray - undeclared, depression, defeat, monotony, boredom, bland

gold - happiness, wealth, light, priceless

red - anger, danger, war, seduction, passion, hate, love, blood, blindness

black - beauty, sorrow, death, loss, tragedy, empty

white - purity, haunted, undeveloped, erased, innocence, spiritual

blue -  sadness, hope, clarity

Those are just a few uses.  You can make up your own in the next poem you write.

Many writers have used colors for not only their symbolic and impressionistic values but also the application of colors has added to the poems' visuals. 

When you are ready to sit down with a pen or in front of your computer to write some poetry try adding a bit of color to it.  Come up with your own blend of uses.  Summer is a perfect time to let the imagination paint a whole new world.