Shades of Violet

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The color purple
imbued with honor and courage.
borrowed from red, white and blue.
Soldiers young and old
who forfeit life and limb.
Find no liberty in the medal’s hue.

This tincture of deep plum.
The blushing pigment of a bruise.
Revealing secrets never told
and wounds rarely seen.
Stained deep to the marrow’s core
burdens buried, love gone cold.

These shades of violet
echo the moody notes of jazz,
and lurid magic muddled true.
Kissing clouds in the magenta breeze
fans the flame of ruptured hearts,
found bending towards blue.