What is Violet?

As the sun sets in the West and color is leached from the sky and the Earth, look out across the lake. It is the darkness deep in the heart of the water. It is the mystery held beneath the glassy surface. What light is left is dying, and the skies turn velvety. It's the transitional dusk, between sunset and night, warmth and coolness.

It's the color of sleep. Not a midday nap, but heavy, restful slumber. The stillness that takes over bodies in repose, freezing king and pauper alike. When we lie awake for hours, it's the shadows under our eyes- what sleep we were deprived of is painted upon our faces like rouge. A reminder, of the rest we cannot escape.

It's a flower. A flower that blankets the graves of children. The heart shaped petals see them off in their journey, their eternal slumber. How innocent, how sweet. 

Soft, whispery silks, trailing like smoke and falling like water. It's the feel of them caressing sunburned skin. That cooling kiss, as a mother's hand on a feverish brow. It's the bittersweet goodbye murmured against pillows that let you murmur. 

It is something unshakable, eternal. It is neither sad nor glad, neither dead nor alive. It's a haven between two stops. Something that isn't exactly asleep, but will never wake. Violet, the last color in the rainbow, is that which fades before darkness. 

Violet is rest.