Different Crayons

If I asked you to draw a picture of yourself

If I promised, I would draw one too

If we sat down across from one another

Would it bother you if I chose

A different color crayon than you?

If after we finished...

Our pictures did not look the same

Would that make all the difference to you?

Would I suddenly feel strange?

If I told you, to ease your unease, that

We both have two eyes to see

One nose to smell

One mouth to form words

Would that make you feel better?

Would that make me okay?

If I said,

We both have teeth to chew, throats to swallow

Lungs to breathe, fingers to hold, toes to balance

Legs to walk, arms to reach

Hair to retain heat, bones to give structure

Ears to hear sound, stomachs to digest food

Skin to protect from disease, hearts to pump life

If I mentioned,

We both have favorite foods, music we love

Movies we've watched a thousand times, silly dances we've learned

Emotions we've felt in our hearts, our minds, our souls

Tears we’ve cried in joy, tears we’ve cried in pain

If I proclaimed,

We've both laughed too loud, sang songs alone in our cars

Started out as babies, grew up as children

Had mothers, had fathers

Loved families, celebrated holidays, counted birthdays

Had hopes, had dreams, had nights we couldn't sleep

Let ourselves down, picked ourselves up again

If I confessed,

We've both done things we'd rather keep to ourselves

Been in trouble, been admonished, been guilty, been innocent

Felt shame, shirked responsibility, told lies

Smiled when we knew we shouldn’t

Hurt feelings, let people down

If I reminded you,

We’ve both done good things too

Helped carry groceries, took hands crossing the street

Sacrificed so others may have, given to charity, protected the weak

Had broken hearts, lost fights, won fights, felt victory, felt defeat

Been young, grown older, gotten smarter, gained wisdom

If I told you all of this

Would it matter if we chose different color crayons?

Would we not really be the same?

If for all our differences,

The music we love, the foods we crave

The hairstyles we have, the clothes we wear

The cultures we honor, the traditions we hand down

Would it really surprise you?

If in our very being

I said... We were one