Am I Earth or Sun? - July 31 2026

 

Am I Earth or Sun?

July 31 2026

It’s either crayon, or light.

Photons, vibrating

at their predetermined rate

striking the retina,

or pigments

suspended in wax

absorbing them. 

The spotlight, bright as day,

or inert material 

brooding darkly.

Either dull or luminous,

fuel or fire,

earth or sun.

So which am I,

bound by gravity

or the lightness of light?

Am I a photon

magically entangled

and zapping through space,

or pigment

grounded and fixed?

Do I add or subtract?

Am I light

enlivened by difference,

or earthy stuff

which must be pure?

When I enter the room,

does it brighten

do faces light up?

Or do people go to ground

avoiding my gaze?

Another try at colour.

Based on the idea that there are two ways of creating colour, either by reflection or absorption: one which works  by addition, and the other in which you subtract.  So there’s light — as in illuminating actors on a stage — where you combine different coloured lights to create a new effect; and one which uses pigment — as in crayons on foolscap, or paint on a canvas — where layering on more colours just results in a dark brown mess. 

A binary — sunny and light vs dark, grounded, and earthy; tolerant vs pure —  which struck me as a useful metaphor.

Unfortunately, I suspect one that doesn’t reflect well on me!