Formulas Followed

Our first dog, Klondike, wore a blue collar.
Our second dog, Xerox, wore a red collar.

Our third dog, Nestle, wore a purple collar.

It’s only took me 36 years to realize
we followed the formula red + blue = purple.

Some years back, our neighbor
called to say our driveway was purple.

I thought someone, knowing my favor
for purple, spilled paint as a practical joke.

We went out, looking for purple
when neighbor came over, laughing,

pointing at our trucks. Paul’s was red,
and that week, I picked up my blue one –

I should have seen that coming.
Better than a purple painted driveway.

When I ran out of purple food coloring
I made more icing by mixing blue and red.

I’m so glad I paid attention in art class
for formulas I could follow.

~ J R Turek Hour 19