Pink, Purple, Blue, by Laurel Brett

Untitled (Red), by Mark Rothko (USA, b. Latvia) 1956

Pink, Purple, Blue
 
Pink, Purple, Blue
 
Untitled (Red) was the Rothko
painting I chose for my red phone’s
wallpaper. 
 
I was after the band 
of pink, though I couldn’t say
why. Perhaps it was winter, and I
 
was hungry for the scent 
of cherry blossoms. They say
Rothko’s an artist whose paintings 
 
you must see in person,
looming in his chapel or vibrant in a museum. 
Yes, you want to fall
  
to your knees 
and worship. No transcendent 
hidden principle,
 
just the vermillion’s 
promise. Then 
I found his Pink, Purple, Blue,
 
a lover who came to me 
from scrolling 
through a gallery of prints
 
on a tiny screen. The one 
painting I’d spent 
a lifetime waiting for.
   
Rothko led me:
bright blocks of purple and pink
divided by a scalloped
 
midnight blue, free 
of all associations.
His colours food.
 
Laurel Brett
​
Laurel Brett is a poet, essayist and novelist inspired by visual representations of the world around her. She selected the shade of green of the cover of her novel, The Schrödinger Girl, with care. She has been previously published in One Art, Second Coming, The Nassau Review and various anthologies including Songs of Seasoned Women. Her collection of poems, Mourning Without Birdsong is a radio play. She is particularly inspired by light and color. She enjoyed a long career as a college professor and lives overlooking a harbor and drinking in the green-blue waters of Long Island Sound.

Untitled (Pink, Purple, Blue), by Mark Rothko (USA, b. Latvia) 1961