A rainbow doesn’t have pink I tell her
If God wanted girls to wear that colour
you’d see it in the sky.

Fingering each rack with disappointment
she rejects a blue top, a skirt in purple
even a belt in sparkles and gold.

Grandma, you don’t understand
everyone has pink
Barbie has a pink car and shoes.

Pink is weak, silly and girlie, I grumble
you need a colour that shows your strength
a royal blue or brilliant yellow.

She leads me to the teen department
a field of sequined and shiny black leather.
Witches are strong, she says and grins.

 

Martha Morseth
Dunedin #NZWOMANPOETS