Colors of Life

I’m a Big Girl
I'm seven and I go to Sunday School, where there’s a
nice nice
old old lady
who’s my Sunday School teacher
She pats her face
with a white lace
hanky
and she gives out
really really boring
 black and white pictures
for me to color
of a smiling man in a dress ...
He’s -  the little old lady says I have to use a capital “H” –
He's got long hair and a beard
which I bet is very tickly ‘cos
my daddy has one too
His name is Jesus
no,  not my daddy's name silly – Him
Jesus … that’s a funny name, isn’t it? 
 
I wonder if he’s – oops!  I mean if He’s
Santa’s little brother … ‘cos
Santa’s got long hair and a tickly beard too … white, not brown
and he's a bit older, and fatter,
but little children sit on His knee too

it's all very
mixed-up, isn't it?
 
So, I color his long dress red – oops – His long dress red …
but the old lady says
that’s not right, it should be blue
and what’s his – oops – His heart doing
way up in the air like that, out of his body?
and why does He (see, I got it right this time!) –
why does He have a round flying saucer on His head that’s all glowy? 
 
Santa’s little brother has a nice smile
but when I color in  his eyes
he looks like a yukky zombie, so I
scribble and scribble round and round ‘cos
I bet Jesus likes circles a LOT.
 
The old old lady does not look happy
She says only devils are red and Jesus is
definitely blue and
I’m a little devil – even though MY favorite color is yellow!

I just don't understand.
 
She doesn’t like my picture
and she takes it away
and hands me another
boring old black and white
drawing
and one
Big
 Boring
 Blue pencil
     Just for him – oops! 
HIM. 
 
PS:  50 YEARS LATER:  I’m still not good at coloring inside other people’s lines!  And guess what – I don’t think He - or She -  minds at all.