An archaic formula: mix
scraped rust from the weathering plow
in the goat pasture or
the abandoned tractor (oxides
from yesterday’s sweat)
with orange linseed oil,
some lime, and the blood
of the slaughtered.
Paint your barn red
to keep moss off –
not just habit or tradition,
this reason for red.
 
Sing blues, not pinks.
Mourn in white or black,
all-or-nothing icon colors
like the hayloft’s dark gape
toward gold fields ready for haying.