Framed in Blue

Written 1/5/17

We sat together drawing

That’s when you told me

Not in words that would burn your throat

Only with the color that represented what we both knew you felt

 

You drew a self-portrait, maybe you were unaware when you started

Framed in blue was where it began and I knew

Just like you I knew it was how you felt

Insides cold like a winter day, numbing you away

 

As your picture went on you added every color of the rainbow

Forming an angled face with calm resolute eyes looking into the distance

Skin and hair only tinted slightly like the insides, hidden in plain sight 

Lips elegantly black, the lips you fear to open

 

The finished product is like a mask

Your feelings are on the inside, eating you away

Your mask is on the outside, brilliant and unwavering

Still tinted with what we both know is there

 

Now it resides on my bedroom wall

A constant abstract reminder of my best friend’s pain

I never know if she’s okay or hurting

Since words can lie and smiles can mask