Clematis Collection - Alchemy

“Is your color Cadmium Red?” I asked Cardinal.
“Not at all,” he shook his head.

“Then perhaps it is Cinnabar,” I inquired, 
“that prized pigment of antiquity,
     favored by Renoir?
Or maybe its close mercurial cousin, 
Vermilion? Or is it Minium, 
     Van Gogh’s choice of red?”

“Not any of those!” Cardinal interposed,
     turning up his nose. 
“The pigments you’re naming are forms of
     cadmium, mercury and lead!
A red like mine isn’t chemistry, it’s alchemy.”

I sigh, as he has told me what I already know.
     Ruby can’t be engineered. 
I just have to wait for my red feathers to grow.

Photographed August, 2024