One of the most striking uses of color in the poem is in the line "The sky was green and the grass was blue." This reversal of expectations creates a sense of unreality and instability, suggesting that the speaker is in a dream world where anything is possible. The speaker also uses color to create a sense of movement and change. In the lines "The trees were yellow and the flowers were red, / But suddenly the colors changed," the speaker suggests that the world is constantly shifting and changing, and that nothing is fixed or permanent.
The use of color in "Dream Variations" adds to the poem's overall sense of mystery and wonder. By using colors in unexpected and unconventional ways, the speaker creates a dream world that is both enchanting and unsettling. The reader is left with a sense of disorientation and wonder, as if they have glimpsed a world that is both familiar and strange.