Ode to the Color Black

Posted October 16, 2008.

In darkness,
beauty ebony
rises,
envelops all. Cold,
warm nothing.
Infinite pools
holding
infinite thoughts, deep
and hidden. Blackness
is the only one
with the power to
hold memories, to
induce forgetfulness.

Every person
has
two caches of
blackness. They are
your eyes. You see
with black
holes, pools, wells
of meaning,
meaninglessness.
Black means
print on paper,
pupils,
emptiness,
nothing. But black
has turned bitter. The world
believes black
is a
horrible color.
Black hearts
are full of cruelty.
Black cats
bring bad luck.
But black
is beautiful. Black
is eternal.

by Maya, 7th grade

[painting by Mark Rothko]

14 Responses to “Ode to the Color Black”

1. 

   Jo Fletcher

   What amazing thoughts you have! The Rothko is a perfect illustration for your poem.

   October 16th, 2008 Reply
   • 

     Linnie Cobbins

     yea it does it looks wonderful like wow who can do a nice poem like that

     January 26th, 2016 Reply
   • 

     Someone

     Great

     June 24th, 2018 Reply
2. 

   Tumblewords

   Excellent take on the image. Black has taken on a personality…

   October 16th, 2008 Reply
3. 

   Sweet Talking Guy..

   I like the thought – Black is eternal!

   October 16th, 2008 Reply
4. 

   stan ski

   You send a very positive message, about what many see as a negative.

   October 16th, 2008 Reply
5. 

   Linda Jacobs

   Some beautiful lines in here! And I like the shape of the poem, too!

   October 16th, 2008 Reply
6. 

   janeth herrera

   i like the fact tht u said it was eternal black is also my favorite color ns it is eternal in my heart

   December 14th, 2009 Reply
7. 

   Black Rose

   Wow! What a beautiful poem! Black is my favorite color, so this poem seemed very nice to me!

   January 30th, 2010 Reply
8. 

   sls_19

   This is truly a beautiful poem. I love, “infinite thoughts, deep and hidden. Blackness is the only one with the power to hold memories…” so wonderfully written. Remember too that black is the color of determination, strength, and strong character; black is power and the essence of thoughtfulness. The color black is my 4 year old grandson’s favorite color and I am going read your poem to him…I know that he will love it and someday understand it as a wonderful tribute to the color black.

   June 29th, 2010 Reply
9. 

   blackin__

   beautiful poem… I love it ;*

   August 3rd, 2010 Reply
10. 

    earthslang

    Brilliant; you retake control of “black” and reframe it in a new, positive way. This is so empowering.

    March 28th, 2012 Reply
11. 

    ducly

    Reblogged this on Duc N. Ly and commented:
    Some sweet poems from young poets.

    July 12th, 2012 Reply
12. 

    Shane Laycock

    this is amazing

    May 13th, 2021 Reply