“Red is never boring”
Professor Rose began his Medieval Lit. lecture
the way he always did, a statement
he’d spend the rest of the class proving.
“It’s such a dramatic color.
It’s all about strength and desire, physical needs.
In the Bible, it represents life, blood, sin, flesh.
“In China, red stands for luck, prosperity.
In Japan, happiness; hence, the red kimono
brides traditionally wear on their wedding day.
“Red is either Cupid or the Devil.
Which brings us to our topic of the day,
its uses in Medieval literature.
“In Greek mythology, the red rose
was said to have sprung up from Adonis’ blood,
as he died in Aphrodite’s arms after being gored by a bull.
“This obviously became associated
with Christ’s blood at the Crucifixion.
Dante uses the red rose as a symbol for Mary.
“In The Roman de la Rose, the famous French allegory,
red becomes a symbol of female sexuality.
Red, my friends, is never boring.”
Professor Rose paused then,
sipped like a hummingbird
from his bottle of water.
We all turned at the sudden snoring
in the back of the room,
watched the drool slide down Jackie Boyd’s chin.
© Charles Rammelkamp
Charles Rammelkamp is Prose Editor for BrickHouse Books in Baltimore. His poetry collection, A Magician Among the Spirits, poems about Harry Houdini, is a 2022 Blue Light Press Poetry winner. Another poetry collection, Transcendence, has also recently been published by BlazeVOX Books, and a collection of flash fiction, Presto, by Bamboo Dart Press. A collection of poems and flash called See What I Mean? will be published later this year by Kelsay Books.
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