Traditional red: stop
sign, fire
hydrant, maraschino
cherry. Other

options: a roof
over a white
house, knit cap
and gloves, her lipstick,
the letters on the book
cover I’m reading. The strangest

ones: a squirrel
on a tree
branch, the grass
beneath, the sky
above, a priest’s
shoes, the color

I choose to symbolize
my quiet nights.