White:
Devoid of color and pigment.
Universal symbol of purity.
White contrasts too greatly
with the earthy hues of reality
to appeal much to me.
White is too easily stained-
it's like it attracts dirt.
It's purity never lasts for long,
so it's symbolism is often lost on me.
When I think of white,
I think of death and horrific tales.
Of white-wall tires
on an old convertible
with white leather seats
and a handsome man behind the wheel.
He tips his white cowboy hat
to a young southern lady
with a perfect white flower behind her ear.
He woos her to the tunes of Barry White
and she hops in beside him.
Away they go, speeding out of town
past blurred white picket fences and wheat fields,
white, ready to harvest.
He pulls up at some nondescript motel,
miles from town, and pays for a room.
They head on in and in between the
crisp, white sheets.
He cleans up in the harsh white light
of the motel bathroom,
but he's far from done.
He walks out to his car
to fetch his favorite toy-
an old revolver with a pearly white grip.
He goes back into the room
and flashes his prized possession
with a playful grin on his face,
white teeth prominent in the dark.
The sheer terror on her face is evident
by the whites of her eyes,
opened wide with terror.
He tosses the gun in his hands
and tells a few jokes,
a few white lies.
"I'm just playin', Baby,
it's only for fun.
Now don't you be afraid
of this harmless gun."
He takes aim, dead center in her chest.
And in the blink of an eye,
he shot her down
in the middle of the room.
The last thing she felt
was the searing, white-hot pain
between her ribs.
The Police found her the next day
and coldly outlined her body
in dusty white chalk.
They buried her in her prettiest white dress.
Every Sunday her family placed white roses on her grave.
Time moved on, and she was forgotten,
so the Church gave her some flowers instead.
They placed them in a vase on her headstone.
But the flowers were plastic,
and quickly faded to white.
Author notes
Written May 6th, 2005
A contest entry
- White by Melissa Gayle.
300 points, ended May 7, 2005, 9 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 11 of 11
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yea same here... i'm used to like the color white but now i'm just kinda don't like it that much anymore... oh well... i agree with beth... sorry i didn't write more earlier but i had like 2 seconds to say something before i had to leave... so yea... keep up the good work...
Shelley -
shock
eh. wow. i just got the chills. amazing. you say so much through your poetry, its not fair. i absolutely loved it. i liked the color white before i read this, thanks a lot! -
thanks for the comment on this piece! i actually did just kinda write it as it came to me. i think from start to finish was like, seven minutes, so i know this is far from perfect. again, thanks for taking the time to read it! best of wishes!!
~tyler
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AMAZING!!! awesome job
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You have written a very heavily image laden piece! Wonderfully done!
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White contrasts too greatly
with the earthy hues of reality
to appeal much to me.
i like that part....interesting....nice work and keep it up! -
this is really good
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I'd be really interestd to know if you had this planned out before you began to write it of if the plot came to you while you were writing of white being stained etc and reminding you of death?
It's an interesting write and when you bring the revolver into it that's when it really fires up. A good story. -
Oh wow. Somehow the dark element of this poem (funny, because it's about white) appealed to me. It's hauntingly beautiful, as they say. I enjoyed your creative uses of white in the chilling tale, very creative. Good luck in the contest.
I do think that a space between the lines, "so it's symbolism is often lost on me. / When I think of white" would make sense, but hey, this poem is still excellent as is. Keep posting.
Em
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that was kinda creepy... but in a strangely-beautiful-creepy way... i really liked it somehow anyways. there's something striking about all that white... great white-right!
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now white makes me feel yucky...thanks Tyler... well that was well done, interesting movement from your feelings into a story, nicely done
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