Accumulations of Blue
I’m back in New York City now, musing on my final map and all the blues I saw in Alaska. The most beautiful blues of course were not manufactured. They were the startling ones, the glimmer of the magpie wing, a gift of berries, my fingers stained with stamp ink as I press the rubber onto white, white paper. The sky is spectacular ink. Now, in the city, the blues don’t seem as luminous as they did in Anchorage. They don’t shimmer and pulse the same way they did in Alaska. Here my vision of the sky is cluttered by skyscrapers rather than treetops. I like to imagine the buildings are gathering bits of sky on their upper floors, as their name might suggest.
I look at the grid of blue sky I gathered from Alaska and think maybe, in spite of my small stature, I was playing the part of a skyscraper while I was in Anchorage. My neck arched upward, peering at the bed of blue. I cut the sky into small cubes, pieces of time portioned out. The clouds peek in, curtains that obstruct the blue, filter and transform it. Blue is the color of accumulating time, time passing, time fading and stacking.
Every Blue I Saw
blue eyes
blue shadows
blue eye shadow
blue postal uniform
blue balloon
blueberries
my blue-stained fingers
blue magpie wing
blue knit hat
blue duct tape
blue thread
blue pencil sharpener
blue inkpad
blue cracker package
blue retractable dog leash
blue sleeping bag
blue shed
blue cars
blue sandal straps
blue boxtop
blue bottle caps
blue pencil case
blue shorts
blue warning sign
blue bandana
blue railings
blue Snapple lid
blue quilt
blue canoe straps
blue fence
blue inflatable kayak
blue cardboard box
blue portapotty water
blue glass earrings
blue gazebo frame
blue hat buttons
blue barrette
blue trash dumpster
blue bathroom door
blue sweater
blue jeans
blue checked plaid
blue fleece
blue water bottle
blue pencil
blue vest
blue paint container
blue pompom
blue sweatshirt
blue coat
blue hat lettering
blue vehicles
blue bike
blue hat
blue thread on patch
blue t-shirt
blue dress
blue swing set
blue jungle gym
blue zip lock bag
blue signs
blue bike helmet
blue purse
blue baseball cap
blue socks
blue label on charcoal bag
blue label on water bottle
blue wrap
blue tattoo ink
blue sneakers
blue chalk
blue Budweiser label
blue playing card scrap
blue bike
blue chambray shirt
blue sunscreen can
sky
water
