Paintbox

Jody Morris, "Greens and reds," 2010

Such costly, buttery jewels to fill crimped
tin tubes, so precious we’d twist the caps
too tight; the only way to set them loose
was with heat from a sulfurous flame. A
ragged matchbook from a dive bar and
my clumsiness allowed no sophisticated
gestures—strike once (dud), twice (dud),
until the relief of a spark and flare. More
than once I burnt my fingers trying to get
a cap off too soon. The oily, golden under-
belly of viridian, the joss stick coal that’s
cadmium red, lit a fire in me to see all my
paintbox gems arrayed on a glass palette,
joy warming itself under a halogen light.