The rainbow is smearing

The rainbow is smearing

pigments on my teeth

as if being colored

is a virtue;

All it does is keep the

cops from trusting me

when I cross

the street from innocence

to dark alleys

where they play hide

and seek with grocery

storekeeper who kept

stalking me at night

as if the surveillance video

was not enough to

keep me terrorized.

I quickly learned to keep

my hands in

my back-front pocket

where everyone could see

them. But my sheepish

grin always makes me

look guilty. In this colorful

canvas you can’t be bailed.

The rain is falling

again, and a firetruck

is racing by but

they can’t put out the

blaze sparking from

my rainbow pane.