I.
black & blue
as the scissor handles
on a hospital desk
outside the x-ray room
where a scared boy
waits for his best friend
to emerge safely

six sickly pink
as the sutures
outlining her kneecap
and the pale
as anesthesia
filling up her irises

II.
black & blue
as the waterfall
  of markings
cascading down
sheer breastbone
to pool in my bellybutton

brown
as the split blue moon
on ice, and darker as
the curls still unable
to rival the vehemence
     of your stare

III.
black & blue
as the smeared ink
of broken contracts
bound to my skin
in sheets

  achromatic
as the morning after
and the murmured reminder
to forget all about it
seeping from your pores,
as tainted honey
from bees beaten
blue & black
into blindness