At 17, I decorated half a dorm room Black fabric on the window for memento mori and music my parents hated Navy rugs for the depths to which Kafka and Nietzsche would surely take me (acceptable condition, 3.99 each, used, at the campus bookstore) A storm gray blanket under which to savor my anticipated
dark nights of the soul I hated yellow Since kindergarten, I'd chosen green, purple and blue, in that order Next orange, then red, and yellow last of all Yellow with its daffodil cheer, queasy brightness, Telling its sunrise lies. That was years ago; Today I own more rooms, more walls
And, in consequence, more shadows. Why, then, am I waiting at the Sherwin Williams counter Buying paint as yellow as thank-you stickers and lemon candy To brighten our basement walls (stark and solid, concrete block) with a thin layer?