The Colors Between Lavender and Coal

I was caught off guard

Disarmed

By a sliver of orange light

That was too weak to light up my darkened bedroom.

But it was meaningful.

A brief flash of the natural world that stopped me in my tracks

As the natural world often can.

Funny how language of war and fight come into play

Even here.

Why are my guards, arms, and defenses up against Mother Nature?

Is it because

L a n g u a g e

Separates us?

Language and culture have colonized my mind completely

But She can free me

If only for a moment

For now.

This achingly beautiful sunset

Filled with lavenders and soft purples,

Vibrant coral pinks and oranges

Demanded attention.

A vivid pallet

Simultaneously conveying both energy and peace,

It burst into my home as a rectangle of a shape.

Something sharp and angled

Something colonized and Western and hard

Filtered through my window that creates a false separation between me from the outdoors.

A pale representation

Of this fleeting sunset

So all encompassing in the western sky

That knew just how to capture my attention.

I sat down

And watched.

I let it open me up

In a small moment of worship, thanks,

And ironically

Captured language here.

Beauty defies explanation

When Mother Nature demands attention.