Fridge Magnets
Published by Full Mood online literary magazine in 2022. The theme of the call was "Yellow" and I took the opportunity to try my hand at poetry. This piece is about synesthesia, and trying to understand it. It took me a while to chip at and sculpt this thing into something workable, and I was incredibly honoured to have someone see its value.
Fridge Magnets
The number five is yellow
There you are, all wide eyes and wild hands
You tell me E’s and V’s are yellow, too—
well, mustard and marigold,
you feel the need to clarify
Your world must be fridge magnets
Here I am, all wondering and woolgathering
The first chord of your favourite song is yellow—
a warm and heavy press of the keys
Hear it, feel it, see it all at once
I’m a child, grasping at the link
between the moon and the ocean tides for the first time
You tell me cheesecake is yellow—
New York, of course
not the weird ones like tiramisu or passion fruit
I won’t claim to understand, but to me
Yellow is the feeling of you when you’re gone,
but it’s another yellow entirely—
shining brighter when you reappear
like the sun, if you don’t mind a lazy metaphor