Rules and Regulations

Orange houses? Not allowed. Nor are blue or yellow.
The rules of this subdivision call for hues more mellow.
Tan or brown or gray or beige, trim equally sedate
are the colors they allow and you’ll seal your fate
if you select tricolors or a hue too bright.
Original’s not sanctioned. Artistic’s just not right.
Your entire edifice must sport one desert hue
lest you be delinquent in your neighbor’s view.
The ratio of bright-to-dull? Exceptionally low.
Blending-in is favored. One’s not allowed to glow.
They simply prefer colors more tranquil and more restful.
And so they do not put up with house colors more zestful.
Everybody to their own–monochrome or bawdy.
As for me, the hues I choose tend to be more gaudy.
They do not want the likes of me in Phoenix or Calexico.
If I want such colors, they with ship me off to Mexico.

Writing prompts today are tricolor, edifice, delinquent, entire and ratio, First photo by Eric Brehm on Unsplash. Used with permission.

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