colornotes

~General Notes, and Literal Interpretation~

The Color of Romance

1. The Color of Romance (Prologue)
2. Nicholas (Part 1)
3. Meeting by the Sea
4. Violet
5. Touch my Heart
6. Together
7. You are my Destiny
8. Our Dream
9. The Wheels of War Turn
10. Burning Dream (First Interlude)
11. Violet and Scott
12. False Dream
13. The Triumphant Return
14. Agony of Truth (Second Interlude)
15. Spite
16. The Church (Third Interlude)
17. The Blue Bird
18. Shattered Dream
19. Nicholas (Part 2)
20. The Rebirth of Romance
21. Old Photographs (Epilogue)

Notes:

The Prologue, Interludes, and Epilogue are less poems than literal accounts by the character, and actual events.

When Violet and Nicholas both have parts in a poem Violet speaks in Italic, Nicholas speaks in Bold, and when speaking together they are in Bold and Italic. (default)

Except in "The Rebirth of Romance". The voice of the Now speaks Italic, and the voice of the Past speaks in Bold, and when speaking together they are in Bold and Italic.

Literal dialogue is in this font shown here in quotations.

The poems "Violet", "Violet and Scott", "Shattered Dream", and "The Church" interlude are told from the point of view of Violet, all others are from Nicholas'
view, or both.

~Literal Interpretation~

In 1966, Nicholas is basically a drifter with no real plans for the future, working on the docks.
Despite the harsh nature he wears, he still dreams of love. One day as he is sitting at the beach near Hakone, a journalist named Violet sees the depression on his face. She begins to talk to him, and as they talk they find they have many things in common. Nicholas decides to finally take a risk and try to love, because he has never met anyone before who can understand him the way Violet does. They court for a few months, until they decide to live together in America. When Nicholas arrives there it is 1967, and he is drafted into Vietnam. He finds that a loner like himself is not suited to the military lifestyle, but is required under law to stay. He is shipped to Vietnam and after 3 months his unit is attacked by Vietcong, and Nicholas is knocked unconscious in a grenade blast. His unit manages to repel the enemy and he stays briefly in a medical unit in Vietnam. They quickly determine that he will have a limp in his left leg for life, so he is sent home to an American hospital.

In the meantime Violet has been getting closer to a male friend of hers named Scott who Nicholas also knew as an acquaintance. Violet responds to the comfort Scott gives her in Nicholas' absence, and when she hears that he has returned to the United States at first she is overjoyed. Quickly, however, she sees that he is fighting for his sanity, and offers little more than token support. As Nicholas drifts on pain killers, coherent thought becomes rare, and in the depths of self delusion brought on by the drugs, he assumes nothing has changed between himself and Violet. He eventually figures out something is wrong from Violet's letters, but won't accept it. Finally he is released from the hospital, where he waits and waits to hear an answer that never comes from Violet. He confronts her on the phone and finds out that she and Scott have become an item. In his mental state he is not prepared for this, and he wallows in anger and indignation. Eventually Violet and Scott marry, and for a time they are very happy. In the meantime Nicholas is trying to control his hatred, and instead finds he is now on the opposite end of the spectrum, drowning in sorrow instead of hate. He is doing what he always wanted, playing the piano for a living. He pours his heart into his songs to try and help relieve the pain.

After about two years of marriage, Violet finds out that Scott has been cheating on her and divorces him. She tries to remember someone who was true to her, and goes to the place she first met Nicholas. During this time Nicholas has been piecing himself back together, without Violet's help, without the crowd's help, without anyone's. Violet is very calm and logical as she presents to Nicholas her story and why he should accept her back. Nicholas feels a sort of mental blocker move from his mind, as he hears from Violet's own lips the prophecy he spoke come true. He refuses her invitation, and Violet drops all her pretenses and begs him to return. Nicholas feels within himself the man he used to be finally make peace with the man that he has become, and he feels whole once again. He leaves Violet there, crying in the sea, because he cannot go back with her, or else compromise himself one last time. The story ends in 1972.