See This World

The Sky

I remember when
My family first knew
I was somehow different
That day went like this:

I was picking strawberries
With my Mama
Because Mama says
If we pick some strawberries
Then we could make
Berry pie.

So I pick strawberries
With my Mama.

We are outdoors
The sky is so big
The clouds are so pretty
And I'm lying on my back
Eyes upward.

I'm holding the basket for Mama
It rests on my stomach
Like a puppy
Is it weird
That I compare strawberries
To puppies?

As grown-ups say,
That is not the point
Of what I'm trying to say.

But as I stare up
At the big, big sky,
I ask Mama a question.
Her response truly confuses me.

The question wasn't hard
I wanted to know why
The sky was four different colors
And why three of the four
Didn't have names.

Those four colors
Blue,
no-name,
no-name,
and no-name
Swirled in pretty patterns
Just like stained glass
The lighter ones near the sun
The darker ones closer to
Our Utah mountains.

And I want to know why three
of the sky's colors
Didn't have names
I think Mama thought I was crazy,
Because she sai:

Edyn, what do you mean?
The sky is blue.
Why would it have four colors?

I stare at her
I'm pretty sure she's crazy
Why wouldn't the sky have four colors?

But she stares at me
And my then five-year old brain
Tells me
I'm the crazy one.

(August 2014)