"the red spectrum" by Frank (phrank x) Harris

i woke up, walking on a highway

in a cool desert somewhere.

i was wearing a green jacket

and red spectacles.

the moon was vivid, dyed in blood,

the sands below a glowing crimson,

nearly purple.

the few headlights

became hungry ruby eyes

of mental juggernauts

that rape all that live.

sucking in lungful of air,

i lowered the spectacles

so i was safe.

and i stopped because

the desert was green.

the sand reflected

jade antiquity, and it was as though

death was a cloak hiding life-

masking it until it couldn’t be killed.

like emeralds pulverized

to dust after the

photonegative of a nuclear storm:

an atom is split

and gives you something beautiful.

the wind was whispering

‘i’m almost there’

ready to burst into a senseless

cacophony of life:

COLORS and

NOISES and

TASTES,

without words,

without meaning

in this green desert

like it was just for me.

i put the spectacles back on,

and as i kept walking,

i found a city.

a dead city, dead

from wars so old

nobody knew about them.

and violet dragons

were swirling above, writing

‘i love you’ with their long

sensuous tails, moaning

like sirens or scorned lovers.

my ear heard the tales

of a thousand forbidden loves

with their sweet mourning.

and i couldn’t weep

because their love was not mine,

though i wished i could.

wanting to avenge their broken hearts

by luring me into the city

of jagged rocks and souls. i kept walking,

though my heart ached to leave them,

taking nothing but the beautiful memory

and the lust for tears.

i looked forward to waking

and tasting that electric blue spark

of my lady’s salty mouth, but

i can only wonder

if it will glow red this time.