Personal Essays

All Love is Colorblind

Shadows hover above me grasping at my heels
swiftly pulling me into an unfamiliar sky;
wailing at the light that blinds
I’m unwilling to abide while
slapped then cradled until my cries subside;
fear and wonder fill my head
as I leave the world to which I’m tied
slate clean and pure as snow and 
casting the first stone at fate; 
by the time you're grown and on your own,
it's often just too late

to change the way you are, the way you see
your struggle to relate to 
darkness in the world, you're powerless to
stop the hate.
  
Some things we learn and some we’re taught,
others are innate;
defenseless to deflect
the barbs of those with warrants
served to mold you in their image;
naked against impressions,
you were taught to hate;
every day the shadows lengthen
the sky turns dark and gray;
by the time you're grown and on your own,
it's often just too late

to change the way you are, the way you see
your struggle to relate to 
darkness in the world, you're powerless to
stop the hate. 
  
Behind the kindness in the eyes
I spot the looming dark emotions, 
cries and laughs, the 
lies that prick my ears and stab 
me in my mind;
I sense that things are wrong,
but I can’t change the wrongs to rights
when good is bad and
black is turned to white.
by the time you're grown and on your own
it's often just too late

to change the way you are, the way you see
your struggle to relate to 
darkness in the world, you're powerless to
stop the hate.

In classrooms on clean white boards,
the world turns upside down;
right answers spurned, sought answers crowned,
whether true or not, 
no debate; 
white made black and black made white,
thoughts too abstract for young minds to grasp,
blindly following the rantings of the deans,
the wrinkled, and the righteous;
by the time you're grown and on your own,
it's often just too late

to change the way you are, the way you see
your struggle to relate to 
darkness in the world, you're powerless to
stop the hate.
  
My love for you is colorblind,
I know the content of your heart;
behind your eyes I see the thoughts 
and hear the words that say the 
world is not black and white 
but shades of brown and gray;
your blood runs thick within my veins and
mine runs thick in yours and bubbles
with love that ties me to your heart
and ties your heart to mine; 
behind your eyes I see the thoughts 
and hear the words that say — 
all love is colorblind.

5 thoughts on “All Love is Colorblind”

  1. This is a great poem, Will. So many wondrous images and phrases turned beautifully in your lexical lathe. Well done.

    I understand the reference to love being colorblind. I’ve been thinking about something, though… how much better for love to see and appreciate deeply the richness of our diversities; i.e., to SEE the many colors and be warmed and filled with love BECAUSE of the beauty of them?

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    1. Thank you! I agree that should be the way we always see each other. But in this poem, I wanted to make the point that the world around us isn’t black and white, not everything is exactly this or that but depends on how we perceive things through our own hearts. It also depends on how people perceive us. They may think they know someone, but they’re seeing them through eyes biased by experience, attitude, culture, prejudices, agendas and other filters. Unfortunately, people often don’t take the time to know someone before dragging them down. Today’s political arena is my example of this.

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    1. You’re welcome! Likewise, I always appreciate your support.
      Sales have slowed, but I actually have some royalties to report to the IRS. If that isn’t a sign of success!
      I enjoy reading your posts. They’re informative and different from most of what I read here.

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      1. Congratulations on your success! Although, I wouldn’t worry about the IRS (a private entity and front for the Vatican bank) getting their pound of flesh, as it were. I do however, deeply appreciate your continued interest in Newsspell. You can always be guaranteed, the articles published here will offer a fresh and ‘different’ perspective on both the news and on global events. That is, after all, why this site has been dubbed the “only real source for alternative news”!

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