I colored carefully
inside the thick black lines
of every coloring book
ever handed to me
my Crayolas
never straying across
socially imposed boundaries
about who I could love
who I could be
I turned 16
chafed with
the need for freedom
to color the sky in
shades of lavender
the grass hot pink
my heart teal
decades have passed
and I continue to be
surprised by new
intensity
and shading
of the colors
of my soul

© 2019 Christine Elizabeth Ray – All Rights Reserved