Written by Lia Benton
How naïve you seem to be,
trying to color the world as black and white,
trying to cover up the shades within our lives.
As if it’ll solve all the questions you ask,
through the pain of confusion,
through the stab of uncertainty.
You cannot judge a stone for its uneven curves,
or the roughness against its side.
Look beyond its imperfect greys, browns, and ash
for inside lies a treasure of crystals,
a hidden geode, within a pile of rocks.
You cannot yell at the sky for its storms,
you cannot huff while it catches you by surprise
and shut yourself inside.
You cannot ask the clouds, “Why do you do this to me?”
“Why must you be an inconvenience to my land”
While they willingly nourish your plants,
leaving an apologetic scent of rain in their sorrowful trail.
How naïve you seem to be,
how naïve,
how naïve.
How can you ignore the hues of grey?
Each unique, each necessary.
Trying to differentiate the good man from the bad,
trying to shame clumsy souls for their flaws
When there is no such thing as the all-good man
nor the completely bad man, either.
So let’s not color the world as black and white,
let’s not strive to cover up the shades within our lives.
Let’s instead embrace the balance we need,
and only then—as a society,
will we truly succeed.
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Lia Benton is is a young teen writer from Pittsburgh with a passion for storytelling. In her work, she
delves into themes of nature and societal issues, blending thoughtful insight with rich metaphors.
Through her writing, she aims to spark conversation and inspire change.
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