When I was younger I recall

going to the Indian grocery store and seeing 

the fair and lovely bottles.

The gradient of women

the dismal, darkest girl, farthest away;  

almost as if any further and 

she’d be cast off the cover

juxtaposed by the much larger image 

of a paler girl. 

A fair girl 

smiling gleefully and 

beckoning me to join her. 

When I visited India

a couple of years ago

one of the first things I heard was

you got 

darker. 

The auntie tisked and chortled at me

while I feigned 

a jovial smile.   

Today, on one of my tangents again 

I searched up 

the ugliest 

color.   

Clicking the drop-down arrow revealed the awaited answer;

Pantone 448 C.  

I crinkle my nose, my mind querying

What in the world is Pantone 448 C?

I move my cursor to the images tab 

and press my touchpad. 

My screen loads and in a split second  

presents me with a flurry of images  

and I realize the ugliest color

in the world

is brown.  

A  

dull

drab 

boring 

shade 

of 

brown.