The color of corn.
The color of grass growing and rivers running. 
The color of Powhatans & Pequots
drowned in creeks.
The color of biblical passages.
The color of manifest destiny.
The color of the shore of Sierra Leone.
The color of chains.
The color of the first step to cargo holds.
The color of whips.
The color of cotton, indigo, and rice.
The color of plantation shutters.
The color of clean linen.
The color of cruel smiles.
The color of scars.
The color of lawn jockeys.
The color of cannonballs and amputated legs.
The color of the rows of dead at Antietam.
The color of Reconstruction.
The color of lynchings.

The color of poverty.
The color of war.
The color of the United States Armed forces.
The color of trenches & mustard gas.
The color Japanese internment camps.
The color of mushroom clouds.
The color of soldiers returning home.
The color of Jim Crow laws.
The color of the water in colored water fountains.
The color of the children that looked on.
The color of the rocks thrown at swimmers.
The color of the assassin’s bullet
The color of the stains on Martin’s shirt.
The color of the jury of your peers.
The color of locked fire exits
and burned-to-death workers.
The color of racist realtors.
The color of good public schools.
The color of coal and coalminers.
The color of beaten union organizers.  

The color of blood for oil. 
The color of oil spills. 
The color of sea rise.
The color of lead in water.
The color of collapsed bridges.
The color of Wall Street, yachts
and beach houses.
The color of guns.
The color of jingoism, nationalism, and fascism.
The color of hats.
The color of hair.
The color of Kaepernick’s knees.
The color of gay marriage
and the color of wedding cakes.
The color of school massacres.
The color of children’s cages.
and the color of lost parents.
The color of Congressional oversight.
The color of lobbyists and the color of pork.
The color of glaciers melting.

The color of private jets.
The color of empty pantries.
The color of hospital bills.
The color of eviction notices.
The color of Jesus.
The color of Space Force uniforms.
The color of Breonna Taylor’s blouse.
The color of the pants
on George Floyd’s neck.
The color of Black Lives Matter.
The color of ventilators.
The color of morgues and facemasks.
The color of webcams.
The color of a clusterfuck.
The color of boat parades.
The color of the hockey brigade
and the color of teargas canisters.
The color of sand mandalas.
The color of impermanence.
The color of a country.