29 April 2014 "Colors" 3 drafts

Draft 1: 

I wonder if the sky knows that

there is no such thing as white.

Because I read in a book once,

a story about a girl in a drawing class

who used her entire palate of colors

to draw the outside shell of an egg.

I wonder if you know that

no matter how many times you ask

your teeth will always look blue,

because the sun and the moon

have this aversion

to simplicity.  

I wonder if babies in third world countries

know that they are born more pure

than we are.

if innocence had a color

it would be brightest I think

in those who couldn’t possibly keep it.

I wonder what my favorite color is

sometimes because

when the sky is gray

and the grass is brown,

I forget what it’s like

to have one.

And when my organs are red,

royalty is purple

and the Virgin Mary is blue

I find myself asking

if the snake had never set them free

would God have kept his earth

white?

Draft 2:

I wonder if the sky knows that

there is no such thing as white.

Because I read in a book once,

a story about a girl in a drawing class

who used her entire palate of colors

to draw the outside shell of an egg.

I wonder if you know that

no matter how many times you ask

your teeth will always look blue,

because the sun and the moon

have this aversion

to keeping things simple.  

I wonder if babies in third world countries

know that they are born more white

than we are.

if innocence had a color

it would be brightest I think

in those who couldn’t possibly keep it.

I wonder what my favorite color is

sometimes because

when the sky is gray

and the grass is brown,

I forget what it’s like

to have one.

Draft 3: 

I wonder if the sky knows that

there is no such thing as white.

Because I read in a book once,

a story about a girl in a drawing class

who used her entire palette of colors

to draw the outside shell of an egg.

But maybe we’re fooling ourselves.

Maybe innocence has a color,

we just aren’t close enough

to see it.

But then again, I’ve never heard of

someone taking existing colors

and pushing them together

to find a favorite.

I wonder what my own favorite color is

sometimes because

when the sky is gray

and the grass is brown,

I forget almost everything.

And in this forgetfulness,

I find myself asking:

if the snake had never set us free

would God have kept his earth

white?