what is the color of a man in hue?
i gaze upwards, inspecting
as he stands bare,
illuminating the wallpaper that others
before me picked so prudently
is it pink like the tenderness
of a newborn? unaware
that one cannot melt into the world,
learning just now
that she is not her mother,
he is not his father,
they are not the sun
does the blood seep from his skin
in bright red? does it flow
into your mouth? as i shiver,
terrified of the risk
i could consume the plague
and in return it will consume me
is it orange like peach fuzz?
i place pieces of fruit delicately
on the lips, the knees,
between the legs, longing,
as if i held a caduceus,
that they soften the sighs of the dying
and raise the dead
does his body envelop you
in yellow streaks? my very own
private sunlight that i wish
i had the courage to see,
feel the warmth of, much sooner,
so i didn’t have to breathe
the moldy air inside a closet
is it green like the carnations that grow
from suit pockets?
i bloom for him,
his hands are grapevines, climbing
up my body, fermenting my mind,
until mountains seem like pebbles
and clouds like specks
do his eyes pour turquoise streams
into basins? do you bathe yourself clean?
minuscule motion, a gentle sway,
but to me it’s a show
of colossal proportion
is it indigo like the feathers of a royal bird?
it sings of history, hidden
in cabarets and feasts, behind closed doors,
of lavender nights
beneath a crescent moon,
where dancers, light as air
performed their acts
in brutal honesty
do violet circles hurt his vision?
he stands proud, labrys in one hand,
the other laying tiny purple blossoms across
time and space,
laying the ground for cosmic birth
in weary bodies
a man in hue has borders crossing
inside himself, multitudes contained,
as iris overlooks and sees
all hues in his controlling,
i watch him look back
at piles of debris, tenderly picking up
the scraps he knows
he can still place in his heart
Pino Pograjc
Pino Pograjc se je rodil leta 1997 v Ljubljani. Februarja leta 2021 je diplomiral iz dvopredmetnega študija anglistike in primerjalne književnosti na Filozofski fakulteti Univerze v Ljubljani. Naslov njegove diplomske naloge je Vloga družbene angažiranost v poeziji Braneta Mozetiča. Prvič se je s pesnjenjem srečal, ko se je prijavil na srednješolski natečaj za haiku, svoje pisarije pa je prvič na odru prebral na slamovskem pesniškem tekmovanju Pest besed v Kamniku. Tam je zmagal petkrat, leta 2016 pa je prišel tudi v finale vseslovenskega slamovskega tekmovanja. V zadnjem letniku srednje šole ga je Gimnazija in srednja šola Rudolfa Maistra v Kamniku izbrala za predstavnika na srednješolskem natečaju Mala Veronika, kjer se je njegova pesem uvrstila med pet najboljših v Sloveniji. Vključen je tudi v kamniško zbirko dijakov pesnikov z naslovom Mimobežnice, ki jo je uredil Gašper Tonin. Pesniška slamovska tekmovanja, natečaji ter objave v revijah, zinih in na spletu so zanj postali redni kraj izražanja. Leta 2018 je nastopal v predstavi Dogodek v mestu Gogi, ki jo je režiral Benjamin Zajc. Na literarnem natečaju II. Kamniške svetilke je bila leta 2021 njegova pesem najbolje ocenjena in nagrajena. Velik vpliv na njegovo pisanje imajo Allen Ginsberg, grški miti in Brane Mozetič, čigar literarni klub je začel obiskovati po diplomiranju. Obožuje glasbo Fione Apple, Franka Oceana, Nine Simone ter Perfume Geniusa. Zanimata ga prevajanje in kvir umetnost, zato rad piše literarne kritike o LGBTQ+ literaturi. Ustvarja tudi na družbenih omrežjih, kjer pod instagram profilom composimulacra redno objavlja v angleščini.