Seeing the Light

Unlike me,

Carey wasn’t born blind

Sometimes when we sit outside on the rocking chair on a warm evening

She tells me of how blue the sky was in Africa

How blue the sea was when they went to swim

It leaves me wondering, how can two so very different things be the same colour?

Or the same thing be a different colour when she tells me that water is colourless

What’s colourless? Is it what I see? Or what I don’t see?

She says seas are blue because they reflect the sky above  but some seas are green I’m told and the sky is never green

They say it gets dark at night or when it begins to rain but it’s never green

And why aren’t rivers blue then?

She says a blueberry is blue too

And that an orange is orange and so is a carrot

I find it crazy as they taste so different

And this is because a green apple tastes very different from all the red apples I have tasted

She says onions have different colours but only on the outer side of their layers

And I could agree because some can have different textures even though I can tell they are all onions

When she brought Jackfruit back from the farmer’s market, I wondered why something that tasted so good could smell so bad!

But I felt it was rough on the outside. And so soft on the inside

They say it’s green on the outside and cream on the inside

I guess paradox is its thing

Carey says fire’s red, and so is blood

But different yet the same

That some people have red hair too.

She tells me mine’s brown and hers blonde

Also that her eyes are blue

How could she see the sky or the sea if her eyes are the same colour as them? I wonder

Oh! what a magical kingdom she transports me to with her stories

A world where everything seems possible

She tells me that babies look the same when they are born whether a boy or a girl

But I can tell you once they begin to babble I can tell  whether it’s a boy or girl

Just like I can tell when touched by a woman or when touched by a man

I can tell the handshake of a friend from the handshake of a foe

Or when our angry cat is about to charge

She says mirrors show you as you are

But that not all mirrors show the same thing

That a photo also shows you as you are but smaller

And that shadows show you as you are

But without the colours

What an intrigue!

How colourful my life has been since she came into it

She tells me I turn red when she says I’m cute

I usually wonder if it’s red like an apple or red like fire

I’d love to think it’s fire

As with her I feel like a flame

But careful enough not to burn the rose that she is

They say you are in the dark when you don’t know

And that you see the light when you know something new

I may be in the dark, but with Carey by my side, I see the light every day