Bruised

 

Black. It was daylight, but it was black.

Like the inside of his heart

Like her hair that whipped her cheek in wet, vicious spikes. Like the single, lonely rivulet of mascara that had sadly overflowed from the red-rimmed banks of her eyes

Red. Like the pain that throbbed somewhere in his head

Red. Then yellow. Then  red. Then yellow. Cruel, insistent, unrelenting.

Like the eyes of the cat that sat on the garden wall – two malevolent, unblinking suns that blazed through the magenta-purple clouds of the bougainvillea.

Through the tar- black that slowly melted. Then dripped.

Into the clotted red. That thinned. Then ran.

Into yellow. That smelted gold. Then smouldering, searing, muttering fell

Into magenta, then purple

Till pain smudged grief leaked into despair smeared in anger streaked with disgust

Bruised