Color me pretty.

As a kid, I entered the 5th grade science fair. My experiment was a foray into psychology. I titled my project, "What Color is Your Mind?" and set out to study color associations in the human brain. I took several large pieces of colored paper and would asks subjects to say the first word that came to mind with each color. I wanted to see if any trends emerged. For a ten-year-old, I felt pretty darn ahead of the curve. Innovative even. But I didn't win. In fact, I'm pretty sure I was beat by some asshole whose parents made an erupting volcano with baking soda and vinegar.

Last Thursday, we talked about color in our workshop. Here is an excerpt from the poem, Colors Passing Through Us, by Marge Piercy:

Here is my bouquet, here is a sing
song of all the things you make
me think of, here is oblique
praise for the height and depth
of you and the width too.
Here is my box of new crayons at your feet.

Green as mint jelly, green
as a frog on a lily pad twanging,
the green of cos lettuce upright
about to bolt into opulent towers,
green as Grand Chartreuse in a clear
glass, green as wine bottles.

Blue as cornflowers, delphiniums,
bachelors' buttons. Blue as Roquefort,
blue as Saga. Blue as still water.
Blue as the eyes of a Siamese cat.
Blue as shadows on a new snow, as a spring
azure sipping from a puddle on the blacktop.

Cobalt as the midnight sky
when day has gone without a trace
and we lie in each other's arms
eyes shut and fingers open
and all the colors of the world
pass through our bodies like strings of fire.

We wrote about colors and emotions. Wayne chose red:
"Oh, to be red! Burning bright with excitement for yesterday, today, tomorrow...striking out for adventure. Red."

I hope we all have a little bit of Red in us. I think back to my science experiment so many years ago and realize that I also narrowly lost the 5th grade spelling bee. Everyday that year, I would read and memorize one page from the spelling bee book. Every single day. I loved words, I loved spelling, and I really wanted to win. I got into the top five. I'll never remember what word struck me out (although I'm pretty sure it had at least eleven syllables and a couple silent Xs) but the kid after me stayed in thanks to the word "crutch." I couldn't believe it. Crutch. What a jerk.

So sure, maybe my life has had more than a few near-wins –or complete failures– as most would say. But you learn to keep on. You learn to continue burning bright with excitement for yesterday, today, tomorrow. To keep striking out for adventure.

You learn to be Red.