Inverted Monochromatic

I saw myself 

In the bottom of my coffee cup 

I would say this morning 

But it was really

This afternoon

The dullness in my eyes

Terrified me

Just for a moment 

Because I did not recognize myself at first

It would be less scary

To witness a strangers face 

In my own ceramic vessel

I am more and more convinced 

It wasn’t my own reflection

For I am the color yellow personified 

The loudest in the room

People say I am the best to go to

When you need just about anything

But especially if that something

Is a smile, a laugh, or a reminder

That you are loved and important 

I will always find the most silver of lining

On the darkest of clouds 

I am a warm hug made up of words

I am bubbles of laughter 

That are so infectious they fill the lungs

Of every stranger I see 

I am the reason for crows feet 

The inspiration for smile lines

That no amount of money could ever fix

I am vibrance and light 

Like my home 

The door to my heart is always open 

I am an artist 

Who paints this world

With the richest of pigments 

My signature in the brushstrokes 

Of the smiles I create

But 

I did not see yellow today

I saw the cloudy gray skies

That you sigh at 

While you wish for sunshine 

The vacancy of that twinkle in my eye

My own je ne sais quoi 

That I am searching for 

In the bottom of coffee cups

Tells me that there is more of me missing

Than I am looking to find

-j.p