COLOR CODING

Have you seen the color–coded kids
in the park?
This is inner city summer in New York.
Clusters of kids from community centers
are herded by their counselors
to their activities —
a playground,
a ball field,
a public pool,
an outing to the museum —
wearing bright little tee–shirts that
go down to their knees,
the names of their day camps
across their small chests.
Each cluster has a different color —
here a group in sunbright red,
now a group in lime green,
another in fiery yellow.
This color–coding,
most likely born out of the need to
distinguish one group from another,
also seems to have the effect
of creating a sense of belonging,
and I wonder if the kids feel
the strength of that.
On my way through the park,
I encounter the little caravans,
and as they pass,
holding hands,
or bouncing along in a loose parade,
the rebel individual in me
plays an impish trick.
I find myself thinking
I'd like to be color–coded too.
I'd like to know where I belong.


© Ellen Azorin