If I said life was luminescent purple, I’d look for auras; the desired purple ones. They communicate spiritual, emotional, physical and conscience-centred clues. I’d talk about violet lotus flowers, opening upwards, connecting to the universe. Nevertheless, I … I believe a military “Purple Heart” divulges more.

I’d look for religious meaning in sorrow and suffering; think Advent and Lenten seasons. “I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don’t notice it,” said Shug. (The Color Purple) I’d meditate on this below the purple church light of Leonardo da Vinci stained glass ~ sans GDP stimulus.

I’d say it’s scandalously ever-present. Cleopatra’s servants soaked 20,000 Purpura snails for 10 days to obtain one ounce of Tyrian purple dye. Prince’s lyrics ‘I only want to see you in the purple rain,’ could be her dyeing earworm. While Detroit’s wanderlust bootleggers The Purple Gang were saturated purple like bad meat, I’d say.

I’d look for conflict. Confectionery company Cadbury tried to own rights to use purple on it’s wrappers and lost. “Relax, smile, eat a few squares of your chocolate—and don’t be so precious over purple,” said the Bishop of Chelmsford.

But I can’t say anything more. Purple speech is profane talk.

Karen Boissonneault-Gauthier is a Canadian visual artist & writer who hopes to one day walk her husky under a purple Aurora Borealis.