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I remember my baby cradle 
It had white netting and white sheets 
And a white blanket to envelop me 
Colorless and drab 

Sometimes I would ask for color 
In the only way I knew how 
I would scream, and the world 
Would only scream back 

When I grew older, they gave me 
Two colors, as a reward 
I got blue, for being good
And green, for staying quiet 

I got hungry, I got tired 
And I screamed at the world again 
It gave me colors to shut me up 
Paints in purple and pink 

I couldn’t eat the colors
Couldn’t sleep on them, either
And when I cried again, 
They took my green away 

I tried to hush myself 
And ask for food instead 
But they took the blue away, too
To teach me not to complain

As I became an adult 
Learned to feed myself, clean myself 
Paint my own way 
I learned all the different colors and their names 

And I knew when I saw pink again 
That it would hurt. That it would scream.
I plastered my walls with it anyway 

Can’t say I was surprised when the walls began to bleed. 

Selma Adie

The Cradle