genesisFall2016.pdf


genesis fall 2016  25

of the night sky, and I traced

It’s just a painting, my friend said.
She pointed at one of a woman
with yellow lips who seemed
to be in all places at once, 
and she laughed. 

But as I lay in her foreign bed,
I saw the swirling stars, wind,
and sky surrounding me.

at me, beckoning me to look,
see, and feel her colors.

In the once quiet darkness 
of her room, I felt my knees
buckling although I wasn’t 
standing: greens, yellows, 
creams, and dark, dark blues.

A thirst kindled in my throat
and a tang ripened on my 

I breathed in the motion around me
and fell asleep in a thick dark blue. 

First Sleepover
A Night with Van Gogh and Picasso 

Victoria Johnson