Infinity of Red
Lips blushing cheeks
colour of magic hennaed hands and feet
desire blazing like autumnal leaves
Fields of poppies bouquet of roses
flowers of the gulmohur tree flame of the forest
red hibiscus fuchsia roses & peonies
pomegranate seeds scattering like rubies
Red button in the Mandarin’s cap
ruby coral garnet quartz cornelian
red cap revolutionist bohemian
red tincture philosopher’s stone
Judas’ red hair Beefeater man
red herring Red Sea Red Indian
Red Cross for neutrality
blood bank people dying of disease war
red in heraldry revolution fortitude magnanimity
red light red flag danger signal
red light district brothel
caught red handed red faced like a monkey
Shades of red in earth sky sunrise sunset
cherries carrots chillies tomatoes beetroot
red blooded man anaemic woman haemoglobin
iron menses maternity ward operation theatre
red rags red capes bullfights
countries in the red secrets red tape
red box of the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Mary in maroon-red and blue The Annunciation
Marilyn Monroe Niagara Julia Roberts Pretty Woman
red Ferraris Benarasi silk saris Indian weddings
red bangles sankha vermillion on the forehead
blood on the sheets red letter day blood on the streets
love letters written in blood bruises wounds
Christ on the Cross prayer flags communion
(published in Red: Contemporary Black British Poetry edited by Kwame Dawes, Peepal Tree Press, UK; 2010)
Shanta Acharya is the author of ten books. Her publications encompass fields as diverse as poetry, literary criticism, fiction and finance. She is the founder of Poetry in the House, a series of monthly poetry readings she began hosting in June 1996 at Lauderdale House, Highgate, in London. In addition to serving as a trustee of The Poetry School and on the development board of the Arvon Foundation, Shanta served twice on the board of trustees of the Poetry Society in the UK. An internationally published poet, her New & Selected Poems will appear in 2016.
