[Red]

Red; I don't like the colour red
the colour of blood--
of relief and release and regret
and broken promises.
The colour of cherries, pomegranates 
temptation, alluring-
[you can't leave once you've tasted
the forbidden.]
Bright cheap candy,
chemicals disguised 
as cherries or apples
[they still taste
of chemicals]--
nostalgic poison. 
Clichéd passion,
lips spilling sentiments
[over-used and worn into
blank words without meaning]
manufactured scarlet in the darkness. 
Roses, fading
bitter and rotting;
[they still smell
of childhood.] 
Red, like rusting razor blades, 
unused for a while
[but waiting, luring]
gambling, taking
cheap synthetic opiates
promising red. 
Red like a heart
torn violently from its bone prison.
[would it make you immortal?]
[you've devoured the rest of me;
and smile, mouth stained red.]