Words Sakina N.
Digital Art Alifiya S.
I absolutely love the arts, specifically the Italian Renaissance, have a love – hate relationship with the Arabic language and am extremely passionate about stickers, socks, animals and plants!
Pantone’s top 10 colours for spring 2017 has been described as “a mixture of vitality, relaxation and the great outdoors”. Though this is undoubtedly true, the names of each of these colours – Primrose Yellow, Pale Dogwood, Hazelnut, Island Paradise, Greenery, Flame, Pink Yarrow, Niagara, Kale and Lapis Blue – trigger images that are, surprisingly, not centred on colour. Instead, they entice your imagination, willing your mind to think of fantastical scenes where the colours are physical beings. Each name triggers an experience, transporting the reader to a realm where reality fuses with the imagined. Therefore, as colours, they do reflect spring but their names describe an untold narrative, one that can only be accessed through your imagination, emotion and experiences.
As such, the following poems reflect my initial responses to some of these colours and their names. They are an amalgamation of the products of an overactive imagination, adult-ing experiences (*cough cough*) and a head that is continuously in the clouds.
Pantone’s Top 10 Colours for Spring 2017
Primrose Yellow:
Primrose
What a strange word
And an even weirder name
What could it mean?
Yes a flower
But what sort?
Maybe a relation
To the rose
One that’s
Yellow
Decorous
And awfully proper
Pale Dogwood:
Pale
It can’t be
Not pasty
Definitely not
Maybe pastel
Like fairy floss
Light
And fluffy
But wait
Where’s the dog
Has he gone
Forever lost
To the woods
Destined for nothing
But knighthoods
Hazelnut:
Eyes closed
Smile on
I imagine
That perfect spread
Its exquisite texture
And delectable taste
So easy
So smooth
So irresistibly good
Mhmm
Ooohhh
Nutellaaaa
What would
My bread be
Without you?
Niagara:
Water
Heaps and heaps
Of it
Falls
Of a cliff
In torrents and sheets
The sunlight
Makes it sparkle
And twinkle
Transforming it
From colourless
To aquamarine
Where the colours
The blues and the greens
And everything in between
Are married
In perfect
Harmony
Kale:
Ick
Eew
It can’t be
That green
And leafy
Vegetable
The one
In smoothies
And drinks
Those ghastly
Morbid looking
Things
They make
Me queasy
Please stop
No more
It’s simply
Torture
Lapis Blue:
They hail
From the caves
Of Afghanistan
Unrivalled
In their hues
And price tags
Only the wealthiest
Of patrons
Could commission them at all
We see them now
In paintings
From the Renaissance
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