you’re illuminated by dusk

backlit by a burning sky

dark skin glowing

sweat on your temples gleaming

profile framed by a poinciana tree

and I think if I close my eyes

I can capture your color

scarlet, amber, vermillion

drenched in gold

but space swallows the sun

and I’m alone with midnight, moonlight

cerulean, indigo, ebony

reaching for something warmer, sweeter

than the air perfumed by jasmine

and weighed down with wet heat

but my fingertips meet your absence

undoubted, unwavering

and I let the rustling of palm fronds

and the song of cicadas

lull me into a dream

of vibrancy, vividness

and all of your one million hues