After the Rain Falls and the Earth Drowns

If I were to describe my family to you,

I’d say we’re a rainbow.

Created after a hurricane tore through life,

And formed by the fragments left behind.

Each of us a different color

Representing the relationships between us.

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I’d give my father red.

Because the only association I have with him

Is anger.

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My chaotic sister is tangerine.

Because the few times I can escape my life,

I’m drawn to her burnt-orange glow

Like a moth to a flame.

And while she has her bitter moments,

She’s probably the sweetest thing my family has to offer.

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My mother would be a dull yellow.

Because she always puts up a happy face,

Brightens other people’s lives.

And from the naked eye, she looks like a saint.

But upon closer inspection, you see the darker grays

As undertones that only come out when she’s home.

When she doesn’t have to pretend.

When she can smoke negativity

And blow it in my lungs.

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My brother is green.

Because to me, our only relationship is jealousy.

He was smart enough to leave us behind,

And only responds to texts when he wants to.

Yet because of his distance, he’s become the golden child.

Longed for, but never seen,

He consumes my mother’s pessimistic life

And is the only one who can give her optimism.

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My other sister is blue.

Because she tries so hard to fit perfectly into

The mess I’d rather leave behind.

But incidentally creates tension

While trying to drown the heat between

My maternal and paternal sides.

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My last sister is violet.

Because purple is the color tied to hatred.

And I’m not saying I hate her,

Because I dont, I love my sister.

But when she’s around,

Distaste clings to our mouths.

Not because of her, but because of where she came from.

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And the brother no one knows is white.

Because he’s the highlight of the family,

The star watching over us.

Never did anything wrong,

And was too much of an angel for this world to corrupt.

.

And me, like black, am not really a color.

Not really part of the rainbow,

Just a shadow behind everyone else.

There to fill the role of agression

Because I find it easier than expressing my feelings.

But I’m never really important to the colorful fasade we adopted,

Just more of a backdrop to display it on.

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You can never find a pot of gold at the end of our rainbow.

Because the quarrel between us never ends.

Twisting our colors into malformed versions of ourselves,

We stay together because God gave us each other.

And family is forever.

Blood is thicker than water

And everything in between is cast aside.

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Maybe rainbows only stay together because

A ray of light put them there after the world flooded.