Indigo

They called her Indigo, not the name of a goddess,
but Greek all the same, meaning Indian dye.

She’s the turning of twilight, the tint of an iris
that blooms in the garden or the depth of an eye.

Her name gives her freedom to stride where she pleases
in new jeans the blue of a late summer night,

free from innate supernatural abilities,
steeped in her blues, though they never shine bright.

They’re the colour of wisdom, intuition and focus,
she foresees the future in indigo sight

through flashes of crystals and mingling incenses,
weaving pictures with whatever indigo invites.

Kim M. Russell, 11th May 2021

blue berries on blue round plate

Image by Erol Ahmed on Unsplash

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics: Blue Tuesday

I’m minding the bar for Sarah tonight with another colour prompt. Last March, she asked us to write in red, a ‘pretty straightforward’ colour: it’s ‘out there – fiery, passionate, dangerous!’ Today she would like some poems in blue, ‘a little cooler, a little stranger, a little more mysterious.’

Sarah gives us a lot of blue, such as sky, sea, calm and peacefulness. She says that we can feel blue, sing the blues, and explores other meanings of blue, as well as sharing poems by Robert Francis and Amy Lowell.

This Tuesday, we’re writing a splash, an ocean, a shimmer of blue, or in my poem, the depths of a deeper colour and character, with a touch of narrative voice.

60 thoughts on “Indigo”

  3. Indigo is one of the most intriguing shades of blue I think. One of the colours of the rainbow, right next to true blue but a deeper hue! I like the humility expressed in these lines:

    ‘free from innate supernatural abilities,
    steeped in her blues, though they never shine bright.’

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  5. You had me, Kim, with the first 4 words. And then the second stanza …. such depth of beauty here.
    And then I smiled at her in new jeans….striding freely…that sense of freedom and assertiveness. And then I come to mingling incense…..oh yes..you are appealing to so many senses here. Really love this approach to the prompt!

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    1. We used to have a whole bed of beautiful irises in a previous garden, but sadly none in our present garden, although it is damp enough. My second cousin’s name is Iris.

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      1. Snap. Our previous house in Godstone had a boggy patch filled with tall irises. Lovely for cut flowers. Peder is making me a border just for cut flowers this summer.

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  24. This is beautiful snd wondrous Kim. Indigo is such a striking color, very regal. My niece calls herself an “Indigo Child”, although I don’t fully understand what that means. Well written piece!

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