I was thinking yesterday
If what I see as red
Is what you perceive as red
Because when I see red,
I see a different world
Radiating Warmth and Hunger
Power and Passion
Anger and Lust
Strength and a drive
To stand out strong and resilient like a foot solder
Pairing up with white and blue
A proud patriot with a lion’s heart

And when I see red
I see the Californian sun sinking
Deep into the depths of a tropical world
Far beneath the world we know
I see the crimson cream spread
Suddenly, but slowly
Patiently waiting to fall
Into the tender, loving hands of the sea
Watching the beautiful ball of fire
Spill blood on the canvas of the sky

When I see red
I am a shark
With great white knives as teeth
Buried deep in the pink of gums
I can taste the salt of the ocean
Just like a yearning woman
I taste the sea of life
Everything is prey
I can devour every animal in vicious yearning
I can feel my muscles constricting
Pushing against the water like it is nothing
I can smell fear
White hot in your stomach

When I see red
I see a rose
Just that
A single rose
Petals glistening from the fall rain
Scarlett and open
Layers waiting to be peeled open
By my callused hands
Waiting to be presented to a timid girl
By a shy boy
A rose with thorns so sharp
They feel like razor blades
And must be snipped with gloved hands


When I see red
I am my father’s rage
Boiling in the center of the universe
An alcoholic’s anger
Brimming at the surface
Of the still lake of my home
Screaming at my mother
My rock, my anchor
And I swear to the God I don’t believe in
I’ll cut his ******* throat
If her ever lays a hand on her
But he doesn’t
And I still see red
And I still taste red