Color me anything
Anything at all
A vibrant gold wave
Or a tinselly silver
Christmas red and green
Or daffodil yellow
It doesn’t matter what
As long as you can see it
It doesn’t matter what
As long as I d i s a p p e a r

Slide the brush over pale skin
A k i s s of soft nylon
A breath of rainbow light
And a tickle of s e c r e c y
Drip the paint in thick layers
Concealing shame
Obscuring disappointment
And masking j e a l o u s y

Now I’m anything and everything
I’m the rainbow you can’t reach
I’m the pot of gold that’s h i d d e n
In a place you’ll never find
I’m the flag that waves to all
“I’m not what you see inside!”
Because inside is hidden too well
Between walls of plastered dye

In the darkness I can s h i n e
Like the glowing of the moon
Watching from afar
Waiting for the sun
But my colors keep me safe
My cornflower blue
And iridescent purple
From my ebony b l a c k
To my halo-dipped white.

Color me anything
Anything at all
And once submerged in life’s stains
I’ll no longer be t r a n s p a r e n t