Nothing happened on December 26th
until Charlene’s father arrived,
a little drunk on bourbon,
with 64 Crayolas, the Big Box
she desired but never got.
We’re gonna do things differently this year,
he said, and being the new boyfriend
I got Banana Mania and Burnt Sienna
and as a bonus Atomic Tangerine—
he burped, a twinkle in his eye.
Charlene cringed—we were gonna do
season six of Black Mirror until
this interruption, all these colors
now arrayed along the foyer floor.
So much for the condoms, so much
for the chocolate ice cream—be it Sepia—
I’d planned to spread on her Sepia thighs
until she shivered and begged
and I came with Cornflower frenzy
all upon her and her mother’s Blush
and very plush sofa.
We’re gonna color Christmas, he said.
So her mother brought the ham back out
(Tickle Me Pink) and mashed potatoes.
These have no color, she said,
but the pumpkin pie was definitely
Neon Carrot and the gravy Tan.
Take my hand, he said, you and I’ll go
together to the mantle of Fuzzy Wuzzy Brown
and wait for Santa Claus. No one had the nerve
to tell him he was two days late,
but what mattered?—I was IN IT,
I threw down my Burnt Sienna
and went hog-wild with Mahogany,
instead. You’re doin’ fine, bro, he said that
exactly as I tossed Copper and Chestnut
all over the place as Charlene winced, slow
with her Apricot that resembled, well, me,
naked as I might’ve been if not for this
purer joy, this veritable rainbow
of everything and even his breath
came out Unmellow Yellow. Give me some
bourbon, I said, it’s Tumbleweed, so Gold.
Such joys don’t last, and when I touched
Charlene the morning of the 27th
all I felt was Desert Sand and Canary,
a splash of Peach, but not too much.
And she rolled and rolled away from me,
dreaming Goldenrod and Laser Lemon,
and by March had forgotten me completely.
CARL BOON lives in Izmir, Turkey, where he teaches courses in American literature at 9 Eylül University. His poems appear in dozens of magazines, including The Maine Review and Posit. A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, Boon is currently editing a volume on food in American literature.
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