It took someone I barely knew;
To give me the strength to look again into my
heart and find what I am made of;

The smell of trimmed hedgerows
sweet brambles that stick into my skin like
invisible tattoos
Warm air made tolerable with promise of a
cool breeze
Greens and browns of Robin's nests
Those cracked blue eggshells on the ground
The weathered grey stone walls
Trailing moss and small brown mice;
The red brick barrier'd field where I'd play
Watch the buzzards and red kites as they
hovered in the sky

The stolen blackberries;
Fresh and full of worms
Plump cherries leaving tell-tale pink-stained skin
Picked from an orchard at noon

I'm made of
Damson jam; sticky and dark with the stones
still intact;
Butterflies and frogs in jars,
Tadpoles, newts and spiders.

But I'm also made of darker parts

Away from the foxes and strange noises in the
night
Those same foxes I curl up around
And whisper my secrets to

teacher sent me to the doctor's office
teacher sent me home
teacher sent me to the place
where all the foul things roam

teacher gave me tic-tacs
to swallow when i'm sad
teacher said the chemicals
will make me sorta mad

teacher dries my eyes up
with platitudes enough
to even console all the kids who
are made of smarter stuff

teacher says confusion
is not a cause for shame
i'm not quite sure what teacher means
but i listen all the same

teacher treading tip-toed
lowering the tone:
"i'll help you with the theory here
but you'll practice on your own."

Someone stole my color
And threw it to the wind
Scattered like ashes
I don’t know if I’ll ever find it

Someone stole my color
From the face I know so well
I saw it in the cotton candy clouds
And the teal ocean swell

Someone stole my color
I guess that’s where it went
The world looks so much brighter
Like something heaven-sent

Someone stole my color
And that’s what no one knows
Depression isn’t black
It’s the color of a rose

It’s the light orange in a sunset
And the yellow of a peach
Light blue, my favorite color
So simply out of reach

Purple like my favorite eyeshadow
No, lavender, I’d guess you’d say
And my favorite music artist
Although he has passed away

Someone stole my color
Now everything’s too bright
I suppose sometimes darkness
Isn’t the opposite of light

Someone stole my color
So I’ll wear grey and black
As if in mourning
Until I get it back