'off-Colour'

‘OFF-COLOUR’ It really was curious; it really was strange: The day that the colours decided to change. It really was freakish; it really was weird: When all of the colours weren’t what they appeared. The police cars were purple with green lights on top And riding inside were pink-uniformed cops; Lights switched to red when they meant you to go And green clouds dissolved into brown flakes of snow. The fruit was confusing- bananas were blue; An orange just wasn’t-well, what do you do? Do you call it a ‘turquoise’- for that was its shade? And the children rejected that black cherryade. Teams all changed sports’ kits; ref’s cards weren’t the same; And Rudolph the reindeer’s own song was renamed. The dwarfs asked each other ‘Will Snow...Thing exist?’ Whilst the wolf laughed and snarled: ‘Little Red won’t be missed!’ No blackbirds; no bluebells; no green grass in parks. The sun glared a deep- grey and daytime was dark. We wore yellow poppies in memory of war But nobody knew what they really were for. None of us realised that we had changed too; But gradually noticed, saying ‘Hey, look at you!’ Black people had brown skin and white were now black; Brown people were white now-there’s no turning back. It really was curious; it really was strange: The day that the colours decided to change. It really was freakish; it really was weird: When all of the colours weren’t what they appeared. COLIN TRENHOLME