Watercolors
by Rook Dar Christiansen
Where do you go,
When home is an illusion of safety,
When the door can be broken down,
And the phone is too far away,
To tell someone goodbye.
What do you say,
When a child asks, “Where did they go?”
When there is no assurance of safety,
Come sun or rain or snow.
Children hide in the classroom.
Passports are ignored.
Disabilities are mocked,
When they come knocking on your door.
Where is safety?
Where is hope?
Such words have no meaning in this day.
A home is no sanctuary,
When it is staked out,
And you huddle in the basement shivering,
Wondering how to prove your innocence.
“What do we do?”
The children ask with frightened eyes.
You have no answer except,
“Stay calm.
Sit with me in the quiet of now.
Together we will paint.”
With red and blue, green and brown,
Yellow, black and white.
All the colors have a purpose.
Don’t worry whether they’re wrong or right.
We are all watercolors,
Blending something beautiful onto a single page.
Don’t take half the pallet away;
These colors are here to stay.
*Sharing Because*