Red Ribbon, Gray Fox

I saw a fox's gray tail, its tip tied with a bright red ribbon.  Then the fox disappeared, running away from me, fading into a murky dark background.

I saw that in a dream, and the flash of bright red - the orange red of geraniums - is still with me, vivid as the instant I noticed it in the dream.

Scientists studied the colors we see best in our peripheral vision.  They found that red is one of the least noticeable out of the corners of our eyes.  That weird bright neon yellow is the easiest to see.  But, red, so deeply emblematic of intensity and emotion, is not what we notice first.  Not in our consciousness anyway.

Red is such a significant color to us in nature, warning us of poison, anger, love or lust.  Black, red and white are intensely powerful when used together; our brain responds strongly to that.  Spiders, snakes, hemlock, blood have red as a signal color and send shivers of alarm to our deepest primitive brain.  Odd that we don't see red very well to the side but are usually vigorously affected by it when we see it right in front of us.  

Red connects us to our subconscious where shadows lurk and passions simmer.  Blood lust, red roses, scarlet satin.  No chance to remain light and free once those are planted in your mind.  As for that small red ribbon and the disappearing fox...