Purple

In first grade Mrs. Lohr

said my purple teepee

wasn’t realistic enough,

that purple was no color

for a tent,

that purple was a color

for people who died,

that my drawing wasn’t

good enough

to hang with the others.

I walked back to my seat

counting the swish swish swishes

of my baggy corduroy trousers.

With a black crayon

nightfall came

to my purple tent

in the middle

of an afternoon.

In second grade Mr. Barta

said draw anything;

he didn’t care what.

I left my paper blank

and when he came around

to my desk

my heart beat like a tom tom.

He touched my head

with his big hand

and in a soft voice said

the snowfall

how clean

and white

and beautiful

ALEXIS ROTELLA

Alexis Rotella is a poet, ordained minister, and acupuncturist who runs a health center in Maryland. The poem “Purple” first appeared in East West Journal in 1980 and has since appeared in many other publications, including the first edition of Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Poetry Idea

Think back to a time in your life when someone hurt you. Try to write about this moment in the way Alexis Rotella has: a simple story that has emotional impact.

Beginning:

Who hurt you? Where were you when it happened, and how old? Try starting your poem with the same phrasing Rotella uses, and go from there. For example: “At third-grade recess, Stephanie Lawton / told me she hated me / because my teeth were crooked . . . “

Middle:

How did you react? Tell us in simple language, using an image you remember from the time. For example: “I sat staring after her / as she and her perfect smile / flounced away . . . “

End:

What finally ended the hurt (if it ended)? Tell us. For example: “I don’t remember / which of Jody’s jokes / finally cracked / my frozen lips that day . . .”