Purple

by Alison Stanton, age 13

Alison Stanton is a 13-year-old girl from a tiny town in Maryland. She is very passionate about lots of things. She’s won two other poetry contests, both where she got her poem included in a poetry anthology, one in 5th grade, the other in 6th. She is obsessed with musicals, Harry Potter, and color coordinating her bookshelf. “The color of kings / Lies in my roots / And flows through the minds / Of all men.”

The color of kings

Lies in my roots

And flows through the minds

Of all men.

The warm, toxic comfort

That lies in a hue

Comforts me time and again.

The blood of royals

Is squeezed from fresh grapes

And they drink it

Along with their cheese

Its rich, heavy scent

Flows with the wind

And teases the gullible breeze.

It’s dark and infectious,

But beautifully so,

And possesses a sickening grace,

And it’s the color I picture

When I’ve come to my end

And the soil embraces my face.