Charcoal Tears by Yash Seyedbagheri

They ask me to paint brighter colors in art. I can’t.
Red holds fresh bruises.
You have her wildness.
There’s purple, deepening bruises. The color of Mother’s nightgown, gone. Everything else was left behind. A mistake?
Perhaps. Maybe it’s just his drinking. Who would have time to think?
Blue is sorrow contained in bedrooms, while words rage. Where are you? I love you, Betty. Or worse, blue’s a chilling quiet night.
Not one letter.
Yellow is festering history.
With charcoals, you can cover up.
Still no calls. It’s easy to write new histories.
At least no one sees charcoal tears.

Yash Seyedbagheri is a graduate of Colorado State University's MFA program. His stories, "Soon,”  “How To Be A Good Episcopalian,” and "Tales From A Communion Line," were nominated for Pushcarts. Yash’s work  has been published in SmokeLong Quarterly, The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, and Ariel Chart, among others.