What I called fear of losing faith
(or losing face) or being named a fraud,
you said
was being chickenhearted, craven,
not standing up,
or bending (bowing)
to the will of others,
of being molded into servitude,
you raved and called me
coward,
YE(a)LLOW,
but from your
breath I sensed
a whiff of sulfurous envy,
and thanked you for your honest
guidance
We parted and into my afternoon
I brought a sense of newfound courage,
that I could stand
without the fallacy of “friends”.
That night I fell into a dreamless sleep,
and in the morning
I wrote the memo that would put me
in the pale spotlight
of corporate failures.
Jean Dubuffet
Today Sarah prompts us to write about yellow at dVerse, since spring is not really here yet we have less of natural yellow, but the yellowness of people is always here.
April, 11, 2023
Björn Rudbergs writings 
I had completely forgotten about all those negative connotations of yellow! I love that sulfurous envy.
Love the second stanza, nevertheless – courage, rather than a corporate failure. I can understand that fear and being called out, due to politics, envy or standing out from the crowd.
“I sensed a whiff of sulfurous envy,” .. this is incredibly powerful writing, Bjorn! And so apt! You describe the dark side of yellow and open the doors to contemplation. Kudos! ❤️❤️
You went in the opposite direction to me with this prompt, Björn, and reminded me of how negative yellowness can be. I like the irony in the lines:
‘but from your
breath I sensed
a whiff of sulfurous envy,
and thanked you for your honest
guidance’.
oh you see the other side of yellow and portray it so well here!
Oh, wow! That ‘sulfurous envy’ so aptly called out. I love how your poem is like an antidote to all the sweetness of yellow!.
Deliciously complex, Bjorn. Never are worst traits seen than in the world of the workplace. They say civilized humans have left the jungle. Ha! Wherever we are, our human nature goes with us.
Sulphur, the devil, and the colour of Judas’ cloak. Yellow isn’t always sweetness and light.
Great and unexpected take on the yellow theme!
Sometimes doing the right thing puts us in a yellow perspective with our so called “friends”!
We parted and into my afternoon
I brought a sense of newfound courage,
that I could stand
without the fallacy of “friends”. – this scene sounds so familiar, to many, I’m sure. Great write, I like the simplicity of the language , the way the colour was used as a concept, and the slight eerie feeling woven through the words.
Fantastic piece Björn! 👏🏼
We need those people who will call out our fears and push us to do the right thing… one way or the other.
Wow, you certainly went your very onw yellow way with this prompt.
Much💛love
I remember hearing the term “yellow-belly” the first time decades and decades ago … cowards in wartime. Your poetry depicts the underbelly of yellow … well done, Bjorn.
So much overlap between labels and emotions–often hard to define, even to ourselves. (K)
Bjorn, well done. love the perspective on the honest advice.
but the yellowness
of people is always here.
The emotional makeup of people can still be described with the colour yellow. Not loud but it is still accepted with its peculiar attraction.
Hank
In the alchemy of colors, sulphur burns us in ego’s heat, the fumous conflagrations of I Me Mine with its sword of truth and stubborn jaw. This spirit had to learn to go it alone to say what had to be said.
We are in desperate need of heroes.
Yes, to this.
Like others I love that “sulfurous envy!”