yellow ✨

my favorite color is yellow.

yellow like the thermos that keeps my coffee warm,

or my favorite beanie that reads ‘BE KIND’

because we all need a little reminder sometimes

and when i look in the mirror

i find myself questioning if i’m being kind,

if i’m doing all that i can to make this world a better place

a place full of lemons

appreciated for their bitter

and not pressured to dilute themselves

with water and sugar

so they may be more tolerable to others

a place where traffic lights need not tell us when to

stop or go

but simply remind us to

proceed with caution

as if everyone’s time was just as valuable

a place where school busses pick up all children

every shape, color, and size

every spectrum of mind

every set of little eyes

and provides them

with equal opportunity

a place where no bulb could possibly contain

the light

illuminating actions, and voices, and pain

so that there could be no mistaking

darkness for right

all yellow

yellow like the feeling you get when your best friend calls

when you’re bouncing off the walls

when you appreciate someone for all that they are

when your date opts for adventure instead of a bar

when the sun comes out

or the rain pours down

when the answer to ‘are we there yet?’ is yes

yellow

yellow like the default emoji skin tone

that i use intentionally

secretly hoping one day

we will see each other

laughing, or crying, or hoping, or trying

without having already made up our minds

about who’s feelings are justified

and who’s are just lies

yellow

yellow like the feeling you get

when they remember your pronouns

or don’t assume you’re a boy

just because of your short hair

or flat chest

or preference for button-up shirts

yellow

yellow like the love you deserve

for growing up too soon

for hiding the abuse

for pretending every time is the last time

for feeling lost

or alone

or torn

between losing them or losing yourself

yellow

like forgiveness

for straying from the theme of this poem

for being distracted by the past

weighed down by the present

and forgetting about the sun

yellow.