I woke up this morning on a winter’s day.
I stretched and I yawned, and I threw back the curtains,
Only to find that the world was gray.

I scratched my head
And rubbed my eyes-
Surely this couldn’t be true.
But still my roses were steely,
The trees so pale;
Even my own skin had lost its hue.

So what is there to do?
What do you do when the whole world is gray?
Do you pick up a paintbrush and persevere?
Or do you simply give up and let the somber color have its way?

Do you paint the sky back to its vibrant blue,
Or do you lie
Down on the ashen grass
And watch the steely clouds roll by?

Should I dye the flowers
Of the dogwood trees, pink and purple and white?
Or should I let them be the gloomy colors they are,
Swaying in the wan sunlight?

I ran out of my room,
My house,
As these thoughts flitted through my head.
I ran out to my dogwoods to touch a leaf,
To make sure they were not dead.

The snow fell down, but I did not feel the cold,
For I was numb and grim.
And I wondered how this world could survive,
If it could decide to become so horribly emotionless 
On a whim.

I wrapped my arms around myself
And whispered “Everything will be alright.”
I looked across the street and at my home,
And down at my gray body.
I had never told myself a bigger lie.

I ran to my shed,
My footsteps noiseless,
And I grabbed a can of paint
And lugged it onto the grass.

I tipped the can with all my might
And the green came spilling out.
It made rivers of color
Across this gray world
And I put a hand on my hip and smiled, proud.

Next, I had a bird fly up to the heavens
To paint the sky the only blue I had found,
As I painted my way up the trees,
And lobbed white paint at the clouds.

As you can imagine,
The bird could not manage to paint the whole of the sky.
And even the paint, so vibrant before,
Faded and chipped and
The plants began to die.

I ran into my house,
For I could not bear to see anymore.
But still I, myself,
Was becoming dark and cold to the core.

So what is there to do?
What do you do when the whole world is gray?
When covering it up won’t work-
When you have no hope of saving the day?

I gathered up my courage and walked outside,
To find that the world had grown even darker;
To see the ghosts of my neighbors flutter on by.

I gasped as I noticed
That I, too, was floating
And turning the color of dusk.
Where were we going?

We drifted down empty streets
And past silent stores.
Forgetting our lives and our dreams, for we had
No hope anymore.

A voice rung out, clear and true:
“You have caused this, you must understand.
You had a choice and this is your last chance to make a stand.
So now, people of little worth,
I call on you to change,
To look deeply into yourself
And rectify your old ways.”

We all looked at looked at each other in confusion,
But truthfully we felt sorrow,
For we knew we would have to mend the problems
Of yesterday, if we ever wanted
To meet tomorrow.

So I breathed a long, deep breath
And held my soul in my hands.
I willed it to become lighter,
For I was tired of living in this land.

I closed my eyes and apologized
To all that I had hurt.
I knew pain myself,
I realized,
And I did not want to bring more upon this earth.

I am sorry for all my lies
And I am sorry for all my sins.
I am sorry to those who have tried to help me,
And have been pushed away, over and over again.

I have helped make this world
Gray and numb and base.
I have spread every lie
And have had my fill of mistrust and apathy
And hate.

And so I felt myself float even higher,
As my soul began to glow
And I knew without a doubt that
I was heading home.

Where have we all gone?
What have we all done,
When we respond to the horrid
By simply reshaping the wrong?

I know I am not flawless-
I was never meant to be that way.
But I am glad that I live in a wondrous world
And not a world of gray.