A Prismatic State of Mind

        Tell me we will lie
here; just the two of us
        so as to escape the dreary and
colorless life we have both led

for far too long. Can we 
        drift into a dreamy state of delusions—

        disappearing into a prismatic world
where the spectrum of colors
        makes our bodies prisms;
two waves in the ocean.

Just as the ripples dance across the room—
        the myriad colors merge 
and paint a masterpiece.

        The tranquil teal immerses itself
in ravenous rose—
        creating the violent violet vigor
that transcends all words.

We breathe in this brilliantly burning moment.

        Our eyes are static 
cling; the sunlight on the sea glistens 

as if through intricate gossamer. Still 
        the waves ripple and roll as the winds
make it known:
        we were here.

        So on does the land of Poseidon 
continue to spread its shadows
        over us.

The blue-green of the ocean softly
        shines across our red-orange embrace;
curling its currents over our enigmatic eyes
        into the chambers of heavy hearts.

        The kaleidoscopic candescence captivates 
us if only for a fleeting second
        within the span of timelessness—

reflected in another’s eyes, in a pool
of cool translucent sapphire.

In a single breath, our multi-colored world bursts…

                 Ruby
Coral				Tangerine…

All intertwining with bright citrine—

Emerald			        Cerulean
                 Indigo…

Interlacing themselves with a reddish-blue—

        these colors and all shades in between
course throughout our veins
        as they bleed out of picture frames
and into our entwined, iridescent fingers.

        However, our prismatic world 
will too soon fall
        as our dreamy state of delusions are divided
by our monochromatic walls—

Suffocating as this burning moment
            turns
                        to
                                    ash.

Erica Abbott (she/her) is a Philadelphia-based poet and writer whose work has previously appeared or is forthcoming in Selcouth Station, Anti-Heroin Chic, perhappened, Bandit Fiction, Brave Voices Magazine, and other journals. She is the author of Self-Portrait as a Sinking Ship (Toho 2020), her debut poetry chapbook. She volunteers for Button Poetry and Mad Poets Society. Follow her on Instagram @poetry_erica and on Twitter @erica_abbott.