i want to color

we’ve spit
these chess pieces before;
on wrong playing fields-
stealing pawns
along a checker board
defined by gray areas
and a technicolor homicide.
sacrifice your castles
and I’ll help you create the moat
-at the base of your porcelain
cheek bones,
simply
because I’m an asshole.
a clock wise match,
played on the back
of rough times
-we skipped the flames
to dive right in to
muted ashes
patted beneath each eye.
but I’m tired,
I’m tired of black and white
-I’m tired of so plainly put,
and I would paint
these walls all over again
if a fresh coat
meant we could stand the cold
unknowns;
and they would start to talk
again.
I don’t want to play you
anymore.
I don’t want a mate
to spill my head with maneuver;
for the sake of checks
I’ll call it quits
on rumor.
but I’m ready to color;
I’m read to be a sore loser
with you
and kick this boring
game out of the way.
I’m ready to see the dead grass
below the chess board
suck the sunlight dry
and live at last
-with the rose peddles
despite the thorns.
let’s stop reading
between the lines
for the words to our own novels
-let’s stick to vivid pictures
and coloring books.
let’s put down our quills
-but this time we’ll really push them aside
because I’m tired of walking
on pins and needles.
here, I bought us a fresh
new
box of crayons
to illustrate the same old shit
the way it should
have been.
so let’s just empty
the box across the lawn,
and color
in these hearts
again.