The colors back then

Scarlet red…

that was the road I ran home.

My shoes… covered in dust.

Candy warm in my hand.

Ochre sat in the corner of a wall,

the afternoon stretching…

like it would never end.

I was on the ground,

drawing a universe

no one could touch.

Back then,

colors had their own names.

They were written

into the way each day…

shimmered.

You asked me,

why I remember so clearly.

It’s because…

that was my youth,

bright,

and full of light.

It hasn’t gone far…

just hides quietly,

still glowing here—

inside my heart.

Cobalt blue…

like the evening breeze

brushing my ear.

We ran after our shadows.

Our laughter drifted

into the night.

Peacock green…

was the dress

Someone hung by the window.

The sunlight spilled over it

like it was telling… a secret.

Back then…

Colors always changed.

Memories deepened

under summer heat.

Like an old song,

still humming the past.

You said…

Colors will fade.

I said…

the heart remembers that night.

Like a sentence

never finished…

still whispering

by my ear.

You asked me

what memory I was painting.

And I said…

It’s me.

The self

who was once

truly happy.