The stoplight on the corner had been broken for weeks. Westway Avenue was yellow and green at the same time, while Cherry Lane was forever red. Mabel knew this. Mom and Dad called it "the
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Red, orange, and blue.
Those were the colors
I saw the world in.
Red for the anger
I’d paint with
when I saw you.
Orange for the fear
I breathed in
when you looked at me.
Blue for the misery
I drowned in
when I finally cried.
Then one day
I stopped
seeing those colors.
It was the day
you sat by me.
Anger, fear, misery.
I felt it
all at once
then not at all.
You were made
of more
than three colors.
And I realized
I didn’t have to be
either
Those were the colors
I saw the world in.
Red for the anger
I’d paint with
when I saw you.
Orange for the fear
I breathed in
when you looked at me.
Blue for the misery
I drowned in
when I finally cried.
Then one day
I stopped
seeing those colors.
It was the day
you sat by me.
Anger, fear, misery.
I felt it
all at once
then not at all.
You were made
of more
than three colors.
And I realized
I didn’t have to be
either
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