The Coloring Concert

This poem was inspired by evenings I spent with a coloring book and colored pencils, sitting in a rented lawn chair for concerts at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in NY. With a nod to the bands, the musicians, and the original Mary Poppins.

The driving,
The parking,
Your walking,
Sidestepping.

Excuse me,
Pardon me,
Oops,
So sorry.

Lines-
Up,
Down,
All around.
Online,
Off line,
Out of line,
Out of my mind!

Talking,
Ticketing,
Going,
Grabbing,
Hustling,
Hobbling,
Smiling,
Slowing.

Too hot to trot,
So what have we got?
A spit spot,
A meet and greet,
Oh where, oh where
Do we find a seat?

Standing,
Looking,
Doubting,
Scouting,

One turn,
And you’ll see
For what I yearn.
A bend to lend,
A stretch, no kvetch.
Let’s pause,
For a good cause.

Hearing,
Talking,
Cheering,
Squawking,
Then
Sighing,
Wandering,
Purchasing,
Hugging,
Kissing,
Eating,
Moments fleeting.

Eye on the aisle,
The center pile,
With a smile,
That’s my style.

Though clouds overhead,
There’s grass as my bed.
More words to be said,
With stars to be read.

Sitting calmly,
Looking keenly,
Sipping quietly,
Feeling serenely.

Those hands,
Clapping,
Those palms,
Touching,
Those fingers,
Playing.
Swaying,
Flowing
Relaxing
Releasing,
Ah, the sun’s setting
And the moon’s rising,
ROY-G-BIVing*

Like a peacock who’s strutting,
Feathers fanned,
Colored pencils are scattering
From my hand.

There,
Over there,
See shades,
Textures,
And lines.
See swirls.
Then gradients,
Patterns,
Choices
And twirls.

A line,
Off center,
Yet, I enter,
At a pace,
With grace,
I won’t erase
Such a space.
Enveloping me
Looking to see,
Where we’d elope
Filled with hope.

Say you,
What hue?
Say me,
Let’s be
A calm décor
That I adore.
Pencils, yes
Paper, caress,
Weathered not tor’
The music of yore.

An encore?
You bet,
Band’s all set.
But, please wait
At the gate,
For though we must go,
‘Tis the end of the show.

And so, from me,
Comfortably,
Tis this for you
‘til we say adieu.
Choose color**
And then soar.
For there’s more
You should know.
There’s a palette
Outside of those lines.
Embrace it,
Like the sands of time,
And the rhythm of rhyme,
Like the psalm,
And the calm,
Of held hands,
Be with one,
Under the sun.

*ROYGBIV is the acronym I learned decades ago as a child and that I used as a teacher. It represents the colors of the rainbow, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Roy-G-Biv (short i sound) and then -ing

**(Koh-Lor as the world color is pronounced in Spanish)

Spit spot was used by Julie Andrews in the original Mary Poppins movie. She used it to have them line up, to pay attention, and to get going with a task.