{"id":258,"date":"2020-04-30T02:48:33","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T02:48:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.illinoisstate.edu\/euphemism\/15-2\/?page_id=258"},"modified":"2020-04-30T04:08:50","modified_gmt":"2020-04-30T04:08:50","slug":"umbrella","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/15-2\/poetry\/umbrella\/","title":{"rendered":"Umbrella"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Elise Chen<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Protect us\u00a0
from frigid rain\u00a0
bitter hail\u00a0
and an unforgiving sun\u00a0
That beats\u00a0\u00a0
on\u00a0
In our turbulent\u00a0
weather\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rain continues\u00a0
It beats\u00a0\u00a0
mercilessly upon those without\u00a0\u00a0
shelter\u00a0
I grab my umbrella\u00a0\u00a0
take a stroll\u00a0
to the cafe\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a small child\u00a0\u00a0
I took shelter\u00a0
from storms\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Packs of crayons\u00a0
in my hand\u00a0
Look at the pretty\u00a0
colors\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White\u00a0
perfectly sharpened\u00a0
in mint condition\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

$5.00\u00a0\u00a0
sold separately\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black, Brown, Tan\u00a0
sold in a box of nine\u00a0
for cheap\u00a0
Only $1.99\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natural colors\u00a0
but the divide\u00a0
unnatural\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All essential\u00a0
for the bigger picture\u00a0
The same oil and wax\u00a0
Why do we pay for\u00a0one\u00a0
and not the other?\u00a0
for one but not\u00a0
the other?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

take a stroll to the cafe\u00a0
where the lovely couples\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

croissants and coffee\u00a0
all perfectly matched\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the man\u00a0
who wanted two\u00a0lattes\u00a0
instead\u00a0
of a cold brew\u00a0
and a muffin\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

was refused service\u00a0
Denied the privilege\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
to eat what he liked\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I didn\u2019t see\u00a0
anything wrong\u00a0
with his taste\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a park\u00a0\u00a0
with my friend\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

who is getting ready to move\u00a0cities\u00a0
I ask what\u00a0\u00a0
the town\u2019s like\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But before\u00a0
I can open\u00a0
my mouth\u00a0
she asks\u00a0
What do you\u00a0think<\/em>\u00a0
Is the best color?<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I say\u00a0
All colors<\/em>\u00a0
are essential<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This won\u2019t do<\/em>\u00a0
Everyone<\/em>\u00a0
In this town<\/em>\u00a0
loves red<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are not welcome\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0
If you do not love<\/em>\u00a0
red<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is\u00a0\u00a0
no more room\u00a0\u00a0
in our palette\u00a0
for blue\u00a0
green\u00a0
yellow\u00a0
orange\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

only\u00a0
Red\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colors,\u00a0
Coffees,\u00a0
Favorite hues,\u00a0
Parkside strolls,\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s so simple\u00a0
But the wars that spark\u00a0
are more complex\u00a0
than they seem\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead\u00a0
Let us make\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A utopia\u00a0
For all categories\u00a0
Cafes and bakeries\u00a0
Paint shops and crafts\u00a0
Video games and computers\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A safe place\u00a0
To be yourself\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come under\u00a0
My umbrella\u00a0
And pass the\u00a0paintshop\u00a0\u00a0
pick your colors\u00a0
One per person\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So\u00a0buy blue\u00a0
And share\u00a0\u00a0
with others\u00a0
Create a palette\u00a0
with your neighbors\u00a0
of all the colors\u00a0
in the rainbow\u00a0
So\u00a0you can make\u00a0
A masterpiece\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if the wind\u00a0
tears a hole\u00a0
through our shelter\u00a0
bring your needles and thread\u00a0
and let\u2019s stitch together\u00a0
the fabric\u00a0\u00a0
of our umbrella\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shield each other\u00a0\u00a0
in rain\u00a0
Or shine\u00a0
From the merciless sun\u00a0
In the west\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the relentless\u00a0
Tempest\u00a0
In the east\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together\u00a0
Our umbrella\u00a0
will protect everyone\u00a0
from any hurricane\u00a0
thrown our way\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Elise Chen Protect us\u00a0from frigid rain\u00a0bitter hail\u00a0and an unforgiving sun\u00a0That beats\u00a0\u00a0on\u00a0In our turbulent\u00a0weather\u00a0 The rain continues\u00a0It beats\u00a0\u00a0mercilessly upon those without\u00a0\u00a0shelter\u00a0I grab my umbrella\u00a0\u00a0take a stroll\u00a0to the cafe\u00a0 As a small child\u00a0\u00a0I took shelter\u00a0from storms\u00a0 Packs of crayons\u00a0in my hand\u00a0Look at the pretty\u00a0colors\u00a0 White\u00a0perfectly sharpened\u00a0in mint condition\u00a0 $5.00\u00a0\u00a0sold separately\u00a0\u00a0 Black, Brown, Tan\u00a0sold in a box… <\/p>\n

Read more Umbrella<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"parent":9,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-258","page","type-page","status-publish","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/15-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/15-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/15-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/15-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/15-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/15-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":259,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/15-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/258\/revisions\/259"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/15-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/15-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}