Synaesthesia
by Christopher Wu

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One lamb,
white like the snow,
innocent and new.

Born in the woods,
near a blue stream,
mama and child make two.

Three berries,
red like fire,
fall and are collected to store.

Scurrying about,
among the green grasses,
I count some small chipmunks... four!

Five rays of sunshine,
of orange glow,
blind them from between the sticks.

One quickly hides,
it's pink little eyes,
all that are left are six.

Seven birds,
yellow and cute,
chuckle at their rodent friends' fate.

Below them I see,
a purple-flowered bush,
in each bundle of petals I find eight.

Nine times I've been,
to the brown banks of this river,
in this dream I dream, again and again.

Next time I close my eyes,
in the blackness of night,
I hope the number of my visits come ten.

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Synaesthesia is a documented psychological phenomenon which occurs within a small subset of the population. People who experience synaesthesia have a sort of melding of senses, where sight, touch, taste, sound, and smell cross over each other. Some people hear sounds when they eat or smell distinct smells when they see a certain bright color but for others, it's less pronounced. Logical groupings are the most frequent (i.e. number --> color or letter --> color) and I've always had these colors associated with numbers since I can remember, they just "feel right". You can find more infomation about synaesthesia here.

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All content & pictures are c2003 Christopher Wu