Black Pine Tree in an Orange Light

by Sylvia Plath

Tell me what you see in it : The pine tree like a Rorschach-blot black against the orange light : Plant an orange pumpkin patch which at twelve will quaintly hatch nine black mice with ebon coach, or walk into the orange and make a devil's cataract of black obscure god's eye with corkscrew fleck; put orange mistress half in sun, half in shade, until her skin tattoos black leaves on tangerine. Read black magic or holy book or lyric of love in the orange and black till dark is conquered by orange cock, but more pragmatic than all this, say how crafty the painter was to make orange and black ambiguous.