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Not long ago, if I recall,
I thought, 'I'll have to paint that wall',
chipped and faded, I confess,
it really looked a total mess.
So I decided what to do,
and that was, I would paint it blue.

Later on that very day
to the shop I made my way
Asked for blue paint. And I thought,
when the assistant asked 'Which sort?'
that he just meant dark or light,
I paused - unready for the sight

Of the chart that he, with pride,
brandished, for I must decide,
did I want 'Morning Azure'?
Did 'Periwinkle' suit me more?
Did I like 'Kingfisher's Wing'?
Was 'Summer Sapphire' more my thing?

He listed each poetic hue,
I whimpered 'But I just want blue!
Do you not have that in stock?'
He stared in pity and in shock,
looked at his precious chart again,
and said, 'Well, there is Midnight Plain

Or Cornflower Symphony ....'
He wasn't giving up on me.
But I was feeling rather faint
and losing all interest in paint,
but after all he'd been polite ...
I muttered 'Let's just make it white!'

'By all means, Madam,' he took heart
and fished down for another chart,
'Now there's 'Magnolia Glow,
or if you like it 'Crystal Snow'
I couldn't take it anymore
took to my heels and fled the store!

I love this poem! It is a beautiful portrayal of the complexity found in the simplest things, like the colour of paint. What might be an obvious and easy choice for some often holds deeper and much more complex reasoning for others.

@Tiff08 - thank you for your kind words, and welcome to this community!

Very humorous and a very clever take on the neurosis which can develop as a result of home redecorating. I'm surprised that I never noticed this when you first posted it Lassie.

It put a smile on my face .... see? .... --------> [:- )

That is one heck of a smile - glad you liked it, @DATo! Actually, though obviously with a bit of exaggeration for poetic license, it's based on truth!

This is beautiful. I love rhymed lines, and these are neat couplets with humorous content. As I had been saying, poems are special ways of saying special matters. If free verse is to be applied, then, you might just as well write a journal or an essay. It could be likened to a special dish you serve on special occasions, above the ordinary fare. In this case, Lassie, well-done and fried crispy brown. Thanks for the delight you served.

Thank you very much, kind Revyrex!

That was great fun - loved it. I used to work in a paint shop and we had a 'Colourizer' - it was for a less well-known brand of paint (popular with professionals, though) and the big brands had just brought out this shade-mixing thing. It's funny that many are very, very fussy about the precise shade - which is a bit odd, really, given that shade cards can be misleading, and a lot depends on the texture of the wall and what the lighting is. Great inventive names for shades of blue.

@Libs_Books. Thanks for your kind words. But what makes you think I invented them?