Aspirational Self Portrait on the Color Wheel
Lips, perhaps, in Pyrrole Red (pigment used in automotive finishes):
my first car, a small Ford built
to replace (impossible) the Mustang.
Eyes designed by Guignet of Paris, who patented the process
for Viridian Green in 1859. Some thought
it could replace all other greens.
Eyebrows Bone Black, my favorite contradiction,
from use of charred animal bone as pigment.
It battles the Umbers
and Van Dyke Brown, an old soul from 17th century
for my hair, though in reality approaching
Paynes Grey, named for British painter
William Payne (about the time of Wordsworth,
