there is a snort wrapped in your chortle
devaluing scoff of disbelief
prickling through trappings of merriment
find humor at my blush-ed expense
you heave invalidating skepticism
splashes of frigid indigo
ice my vulnerable disclosure
impromptu orchid proffering
you have colored me strident scarlet
as I retreat not from weighty debate
and stand toe to toe with any challenge
in my hollow of hallowed ground
I carry off vermillion verisimilitude
in tones more assured than dulcet
take the measure of men of stature
shrink violet from no deliberation
my soul is lilting lavender
clad as a rubied warrior
wilts exhausted in social commerce
blooms fragrant is solitude’s sun
you vision me caricatured cerise
pushing envelopes and limits
while I crave the blessed relief
of a meadowed azure retreat