White light might not exist

Skye Wilson

but this fluorescent headache does.
How can I know my blue looks like yours?
Does your sunset flame the same orange
on our tangled hands? I know you love me

(my car is fixed; a cup of tea appears
in my left hand). Does the red hot blood
leaping to skin-surface seem the same?
Does the colour of your love match mine?

The Science

This poem is inspired by the new science theatre show at Life Science Centre, which brings science to life through interactive exhibits in Newcastle Upon Tyne. The show explores the concept of colour: how white light is made up of many different colours rather than existing alone, and how people perceive colours differently. This includes colour vision deficiency, green and yellow light combining to look red to some people, and the fact that two different people may have completely different perceptions of the same shade of blue.

The Poet

Skye Wilson is a Scottish poet with an MSc in Creative Writing from University of Edinburgh. She lives in Newcastle upon Tyne and loves ceilidh dancing, rugby, and words. Her work can be found in perhappened, Hillfire Anthology and Another New Calligraphy as well as at skye-wilson.com.

Next poem: A poem for Mary by Sean Patrick