the boy who saw color

When I was 16, I looked after a boy

10 years younger than I

But his soul

was older than mine -

wiser, deeper, and more kind

It could be

that he was actually looking after me

On my darkest days, he brightened them

and on some days, he kept me alive

On a Wednesday afternoon,

as I was driving him home from school,

he said he learned about the meaning of color

And my soul - black, with tones of grey,

was eager to hear what he had to say

But I wasn’t quite prepared

for what came out that day

He said, “I can see what color every person is,

when I look at them, it radiates around their skin”

“What color am I? “

I asked,

as he replied,

“Purple,

You are Purple”.

“But my favorite color is blue,

and my eyes are green with golden hues

So where is this purple that you see?”

“You’re purple because you care more than anyone else

You’re purple because you love harder than love itself

You’re purple because you’re calming, but also so alive

You’ve suffered through pain so other people could thrive

You’re purple

because I’m blue

and you have some of my colored soul

within you”

Sometimes people have to show you

what your own eyes can’t see

Where I saw black and grey,

he saw purple within me