1st place Winner Fall 2021

Author: Mak Carpenter

In the beginning the world was black and white,

Colors were absent as the world wept in silence.

I stumbled throughout the world in search of splashes of color,

hoping for something to brighten the dull planet.

The warmer tones came first,

bringing me joy, love, happiness, and freedom.

Red for the love that tethered humanity together,

for the blood we all share, 

for the truth we search for.

Orange for the abundance of life,

for the fruits of labor that blossom on the farm.

Yellow for the hearth we welcome with open arms,

for laughter as a baby is born.

Pink for the joy that we wish to feel day-to-day,

for the emotions bubbling in our hearts.

On the other side there are the cooler tones,

the tones that remind us of sorrow and sadness,

bringing out our darker emotions.

Green for the envy,

always running after something you want,

but never able to obtain it.

Blue for the tears we shed,

always reminded by the endless skies above,

but never able to let the feeling go.

Purple for wealth that is desired,

always sought to be bought,

but once held there is no happiness found.

As I grew to understand the world,

to see it for what it truly was,

I understood that the world isn’t just Black and White.

the world is plagued with a myriad of colors,

painting the Earth, 

marking from sea to shore.

Not just painted on walls or portraits,

not just painted on clothes or canvases,

not just painted on skins and furs,

not just painted on hairs and hoops,

but something deeper,

something bigger.

Color is worshipped and admired,

Color represents who we are.

We staple color onto flags and inside anthems,

wear them proudly as our identity.

Though we all bleed Red we are proud to say,

We are Yellow, 

We are Brown,

We are Black,

We are White,

We are Red,

We are Colors.

The world isn’t just Black and White,

I am proud to say I am Brown and Yellow, 

I am proud of my Colors.