Why is everything black and white
(when, really, nothing is)?
Even the red barn in the rain beckons
like one lotus blooming in a pond
(like the shimmer of a kingfisher,
a sunbeam) – startling, blinding,
but not black and white (never
black and white). In shadows
the fir tree understands the shivering
beneath its branches, feathers stirring
overhead. Why do we pick
at sores when we could soar instead?
Nothing in nature is black or white (does that make
us unnatural?). It’s easier to say aloud
what we’re allowed (or not
allowed) to do. Our thoughts somersault
like a tricolored umbrella caught in a storm,
turning, tumbling away from us –
(see how far it blows?) instead
of glowing like moonstones, tugging
from its own darkness prisms
(of light).
KB Ballentine loves to travel and practice sword fighting and Irish step dancing: those Scottish and Irish roots run deep! When not tucked in a corner reading or writing, she makes daily classroom appearances to her students. Learn more at www.kbballentine.com.
