The Brown Man

in memory of Trini Sanchez, Jr.

I told the children, “maybe if the sky was brown,
maybe if the clouds were a darker shade of brown,
maybe if the rain was brown”

but they seemed puzzled,
they didn’t seem to understand
and the parents didn’t like it

and the school board was outraged
and the news media
was foaming at the mouth.

The Klu Klux Klan joined hands
with the Republicans
and burned crosses on my yard.

The police put twenty-four hour surveillance on me.
The NSA devoted one of its spy satellites
soley to keep track of little old me.

How come Trini never got into trouble
when he asked, “Why Am I So Brown?”
and how about the guy

who uttered, “How now brown cow.”
And is purple ok?
Is it just this kind of brown that upsets them so much?