black is the colour

alex carrigan

When I think of my true love’s hair,
whether it could be the shag
that falls over their eyes
like fringe off a leather jacket,

or if it could be the long waves
that flow down their back
like a spilled ink bottle,
it’s always a rich, evening black.

I would love to see how
their hair stands out against
every pillowcase or against
every stucco-covered wall.

How it could guide my eyes
up to the vintage chandelier
with arms coiled like their twists,
or down to the violets they planted
to match their highlights.

I kept this space a dull white
when I first moved in.
I thought scuff marks and
nicotine stains would be all the color
I’d allow in my home.

But when I started thinking
of how I could share this home
with my true love, I started to
think of how their color
could freshen all the coats.

How I could finally find
someone who loved my
dishwater brown hair as much
as I loved their black licorice braids.

I’m finally ready to find
that person’s beautiful black
and see it against every wall.
I just need to let him or her come inside.

about the author

Alex Carrigan (he/him) is a Pushcart-nominated editor, poet, and critic from Virginia. He is the author of May All Our Pain Be Champagne: A Collection of Real Housewives Twitter Poetry (Alien Buddha Press, 2022), and Now Let's Get Brunch: A Collection of RuPaul's Drag Race Twitter Poetry (Querencia Press, forthcoming 2023). He has had fiction, poetry, and literary reviews published in Quail Bell Magazine, Lambda Literary Review, Barrelhouse, Sage Cigarettes (Best of the Net Nominee, 2023), Stories About Penises (Guts Publishing, 2019), and more. For more information, visit carriganak.wordpress.com or follow him on Twitter @carriganak.