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The Rainbow Connection
by S.J. Tylerbefore the rain
we were green
everyone but me
I painted green on myself
to hide what I was
to pretend
but all I had ever known had been green
when the storm showed its face
I tried to hide, all alone
There was lightning, and it chased after me
because I didnt blend in well
with the trees and the grass
now that my paint had melted off
everyone else seemed to melt into the green
but lightning knew I was different, I was in no way green
and its strike burned me
the rain pelted down
I was wet
and scared
everything was green
and I was pink
then out from behind a tree I heard a scream
as the lightning flashed again
a shivering creature crawled from the charred remains of the trunk
he was purple
I didnt know him
but he felt vaguely familiar
he was hurt because he didnt blend in either
he tried to hide
but the lightning could sense purple man
it had a radar
and knew exactly who to hit
exactly who to burn
then I heard squishy footsteps behind me
through the tall, muddy grass
a blue girl
fluorescent, electric blue, she shined
I had never seen her before either
her shoulder was bloody
and she was holding back tears as she walked
determined to get away from the field
to a safe haven
a blue heaven
to be with other blue people
and not hide or blend in
with a world full of green
she saw me and purple
suffering and wet
run! its going to strike again soon!
but it didnt
it stopped
the rain just stopped
the sun came out
and we could see each others faces
I knew these people
they were the green I had always cowered before
but they were no longer green, I saw
the rain had shown our true colors
but now with the sun out
and the rain over
I looked out over the recovering field
and saw more people leaving bushes, and small shelters
when we all had to come out into the open
to heal our wounds and dry our flesh,
and, for the first time in my life,
green didnt dominate my eyesight
I saw the entire rainbow.
09/04/2003 Author's Note: This was written for a Rainbow Connection circle sponsored contest, way back when.
Posted on 09/05/2003
Copyright © 2025 S.J. Tyler
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