Image: Robin Klitch, niece of Melanie Kyer
Orange
Orange is a warning.
Traffic cones and ribbons mark construction sites.
Hunter vests and blazing hats pierce through the trees,
Where even bright fall leaves hail winter’s cold.
Orange tells us: Pay attention!
You have looked away so long,
The very sky at noon has turned to orange
In a jarring surreality.
Orange is the fire burning,
Pain reflected to the sky,
As if the heavens themselves are screaming:
What will it take to roust you from your sleep?
This orange does not know what it will be–
Though it seems mighty, it pleads like a child.
Is this the sunrise that will wake us up
Or sunset bringing even darker night?
Melanie Kyer