Una Cosa Me Da Risa

it's just
the memory of the sky

blue
and maybe it only seemed so blue
because it was the first time i noticed
just how blue it was

or
that it was blue at all

sure
i knew

enough to offer that up
as my answer
when asked

but this was the first time i saw it
and i finally realised what it meant
for the sky to be blue

it seems so simple
until you look at it

and the grass

it had been green
for as long as i'd rolled around in it

buried dead canaries
beneath it

ripped out patches in my small fist
and chewed upon it

it was green when i spit it out

also then
were my tongue and my teeth

it had always been green

gramma told me stories
from when she
was a little girl
and that the grass had been green then too

my mom told the same stories
and likewise
was the grass green when she was a child

but now
as i looked around
i realised what it meant
for the grass to be green

it seems so simple
until you look at it

i do not recall a cloud in the sky on that day

i'm sure they were
but i could not see them

perhaps they were hidden behind houses
or under the leaves of the trees

those still giants that stood in our yard
branches like arms
casting evils away

and their leaves
were green as well

voices whisper in the background
and everything smells like lemonade
and potato salad

i could barely see the ones i loved
because it was too beautiful

a different kind of brightness than i had seen
when i would sit and stare directly into the sun

wondering
how strong my eyes
were

how long
was i able to stand
watching it burn in the sky

but it was early afternoon
and i just kept looking west

soon enough
it would be
there

soon enough we all would

settling
into our darkness

but for this moment
of which
i speak
the grass became truly green
and the leaves on the trees

the voices whispered
loud enough
that i knew they would echo forever

and the sky
it was blue

it seemed so simple until you looked at it

but if you learned
to look away
for
just a second
it was so obvious
that you just laughed