A Parable of Purple-Love ( for Flowergirl )

I.    
      
Nature's intimate secrets      
  are revealed through intuition—        
like an insect's blood      
mixed with lemon juice      
  unraveling color's mystery;      
     
Logic explains how marriage between        
   grayscale cochineal's carminic acid        
   to citrus fruit's calcium citrate          
births living Scarlet or Carmine Blue        
     
Then there's Tyrian-Purple,      
the natural order — predators      
    becoming prey:      
    Murex marine mollusks—        
    sacrificial thousands;      
shelled secretions      
offered in pigmented ritual      
    producing a singular Roman toga      
     
          Royalty  < --- >  Church      
           exclusively permitted      
               exquisite beauty      
     
II.      
     
Purple is metaphoric regarding struggles      
  separating have and have-nots      
  before enlightenment was born:      
empirical science— grace      
   some Sceptical Chymist      
   affording brilliant pigments at-large;        
          
one person made that difference—        
adorned poverty, middle class:      
  mauve, violet, lavender, plum      
  boysenberry, eggplant, jam      
     
  so they also felt regal—      
    animals spared slaughter    
  by alternatives      
     
Certain individuals still exist—        
   uplifting, bridging gaps;        
reminding fellow humans      
   they're meaningful despite status    
     
You've shined such light      
  into my own Being—      
             many others too      
     
Thank-you      
  seems quite blasé;      
as does any poem;      
     
but, it's yours, anyway—      
this Parable of Purple-Love          
~