Ah, here is a confusing crayon.  Violet-red.  Violets are not red.  Violets are purple.  They are not even blue as the poem suggests.  What exactly is a maroon?  A trip to our old friend Mr. Dictionary tells us that it simply means dark red.  However, it does get its name from the marron (note the different spelling)  a large Mediterranean chestnut.  A visit to the B section of Mr D. tells us that bittersweet simply means ‘pleasant but including or marked by elements of suffering or regret.’  What does this have to do with a shade of brown?  For those of you who have always wondered what sienna is: ‘an earthly substance containing oxides of iron and manganese that is is brownish yellow when raw and orange red or reddish brown when burnt.’  Umber is much the same thing but darker because of more iron and manganese oxides.  Wow – surprises of surprises!  Sepia is the inky secretion of a cuttlefish!  Boy will wonders never end?  Hmmm… sea green.  The sea is not green.  Not only is periwinkle the name of a shrub, but it is also the name of an American freshwater snail.  What in the world is cerulean?  ‘Resembling the blue of the sky.’  Oh.