The Wreck of the Penolope, Bordeaux on driftwood

Little pink shades over baby blue eyes

make a violet deeper than

a wine dark ocean that you want

to dive into – maybe she’s

worth getting lost at sea for

but it’s hard to tell when all you

know is that storms are on

the horizon, they crash and howl with

such a show you know they won’t

just wreck your ship – the wind

and rain and lightning will

deconstruct it, the waves will envelop

the planks and canvas, putting them to rest

beneath the turbulent surface and all

that will be left is a sailor floating on

the wine-dark sea of her eyes –

you know this, but still you’re

drunk on the color and the cool

breeze on a warm day and the soft

touch of a gentle hand on your lonely

cheek and you still set sail from Troy.

---

Author's note:

I personally have a lot of love for the literal color change that sunglasses have so I wanted to start with that as a framing device, where the "rose tinted glasses" make a person seem more dangerous than they do on the surface, and of course, tied that into Homer's Odyssey. Because, who doesn't love a poem about being lost at sea for a decade?

Author's bio:

Taylor Greene is an archaeologist studying at the University of Mississippi. His work is largely inspired from his experience in, and the nature of, the American South. You can find other work by him in Rootstalk, The Cryptonaturalist Podcast, and forthcoming in The Bitchin' Kitsch.