The Colouring Man
by Jane Hurd Cahane
The Colouring Man
came into my room last night
in a white Doctor's Coat
because somebody must have prayed him there
He undid my
white bandages which
I had been wearing for so long I had forgotten
and then he took his paints
and painted my heart
on the inside
it was dead
but he painted it red alive and kicking
and then he painted
me a brilliant rose smile
with shining white teeth
then next he painted
in my mind
to make my imagination come alive
the walls and the ceiling, once black
became a tropical, lush green
with azure, sky-crisp blue
above, and dotted with
noisy, bright-coloured birds--
and a couple of golden suns
all in the the vista
--things I could never have seen before
and last he painted
a silver band around my finger
to represent the hope
of love and belonging and eternity
And before I knew it
my black and white but mostly
grey and dismal
vision of life was changed
because I was hand-painted by Love
into his true world of colour.
© 1996 Jane Hurd-Cosgrove
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