Rainbows aren’t black
Sunshine isn’t black
The pupils behind my tears are black
The patches that taint mama’s CT scan are black.

All that black aren’t diamonds
All that black isn’t gold
All that black are wayward cells
All that black is bloody cancer.

Black represents decay
Black represents forfeit
Black represents mortality
Black represents despair.

Black is the night sky, where heaven allegedly is
Black is my tasteless, lukewarm coffee
Black is the shadow of doom I cannot rid
Black is the essence of my pall.

Black is the theme of the hospital ICU
Black is the mood on the doctor’s face
Black is the colour of dilated pupils
Black is what I feel at the monotonous beep.

Black is the moment that ensued
Black is what I wore to the funeral
Black is ink on the death certificate
Black is the colour of ash.

Cover image by Matt Gross on Unsplash