"Soft Pink Landscape" by Aquielle (she/her)

“Soft Pink Landscape”

Richard Hamilton, 1980

Aquielle, 2019

let me take you to the forest

so that we can watch the trees

and listen to the way the wind

whispers your name.

it tickles the leaves

and i wait for them to laugh

in reply.

let the light kiss your skin

gently

gently

gently.

soft hues of pink light the sky,

a sunset of gold.

i watch our silhouettes appear

and disappear

on the tall grass,

envious of their ability to hide

better than we can.

but still,

i hold your hand

unafraid

of who’s around.

of who will see.

i let you wrestle me to

the ground and

i dig my heels into the earth

making my mark.

we belong here,

i promise.

let me take you to the forest, for here

we are allowed to be.

let’s paint the clouds pink

and orange

and yellow

and sit back,

watch the colors swirl.

here,

the sunsets

scream our name.

we will not be vilified.

let me take you to the forest, _______

let me take you to the forest.

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"Soft Pink Landscape" [is] inspired by the painting of the same name created by Richard Hamilton in 1980. The poem explores female love that exists wholly in nature and what it means to not have to hide ourselves. There is a deliberate celebration of the love coming from the natural elements that gives the poem its soft and communicative feel.

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Aquielle is a junior at Brown studying psychology. She's served two years as a Minority Peer Counselor and enjoys working with first year students in their transition to Brown. She's a Capricorn sun with a Pisces venus which she feels explains the extreme sappiness of her works!