WHAT IS THE COLOR OF LOVE — Nobuko Miyamoto

Red, green, blue, purple

Black, brown, white, yellow

What is the color of love?

I have a son and colors run through his bloodline

Into his crayons, pencils, charcoals, watercolors

Painting his toys, notebooks, walls, furniture

Painting a world he wants to live in

Being a boy of colors

He asked some hard questions

He asked the ones I never asked

At 6 years old, I took him to the beach with a friend

A blue sky watched over them

As they built castles in the sand, castles in the sand

Circles, spires, bridges, tunnels

Suddenly he looked up at me and said:

Mommy, I wonder what people think

Seeing two black kids and a Japanese lady?

Caramel, olive, hazel, chocolate

What is the color of love?

When he was 7, we were at home on a hot summer Saturday

The white lady who lived next door passed by our kitchen window

She grumbled out loud: “you should be ashamed for having a black child!”

I ran to the door, but before I could open it

My son said: mommy, is there something wrong with that lady?

Crimson, orange, chartreuse, violet !

What is the color of love?

When he was 8, he came home late from school

He dropped his backpack and sat down at the kitchen table

I knew he had another question to ask:

Mom, why do folks hate black people so much?

I didn’t know how to answer

But I hope he never runs out of questions

Red, green, blue, purple

Black, white, brown, yellow

What is the color of love?

Color the world you want to live in…

Blue, green, orange, violet

Olive, caramel, hazel, chocolate

Color the world you want to live in…