By Katherine Baker
My heart is red in a world that’s dark;
my Savior’s blood colors me stark
amid a sin-swept world of gray.
Now I’m seeing everything this way.
Gray clouds gather in the sky;
gray is on the faces passing by.
Nothing in man’s heart is bold,
for all are blending to the mold.
Through God’s color eyes I start to see
that the gray world was a part of me.
Rainbows darkened and music silent;
the paint they use is blandly violent.
Happiness is a mask they wear,
and colors garner their angry stare.
“Too bright, too cartoonish,” they say.
“Besides, it’s more mature to wear gray.”
So I donned the gray and tried to ignore
the blood-bought heart of red I wore.
I joined in all their grayish laughter,
and every time I regretted it after,
hiding my red heart
so no one would know I had that part.
All I wanted was to be liked;
I traded my color to gain a gray mic.
But red hearts can’t live a gray-splashed life,
so my soul rent and tore with strife.
I began to notice all was wrong,
but the grip of gray seemed too strong.
I fought with power not my own
to find God on His throne.
And as I saw His colorful face
beside my colorless one—the disgrace!—
I fell on my knees and cried.
I had said I was honoring Him, but I lied.
I worshiped myself in the gray
and forgot God’s good way.
My crime was so great,
I felt an apology was too late.
But Jesus pointed to my red
and said my soul had started dead
and gray-washed and violently opposed—
it isn’t a secret, God knows—
but He took the gray and blotted it out.
He used His palette to paint over my doubt
with blue like the water He walked on
and green like the fields where He shepherds
and orange like the glorious sun.
Best of all, He added His red,
His blood He gave in my stead.
Lord, help me to wear Your red,
and where I go, may it spread.
I thank You for the colors You’ve engraved;
You color me saved.
Katherine Baker loves to express the many thoughts and emotions she feels each day in the form of art. From music to poetry to stories to (depressingly amateur) drawing, she is always bubbling with an overflow of God-given imagination that she desires to share with everyone she meets. An overambitious free-spirit, she is always juggling her big ideas and her busy life. She will profess that every good thing she creates is not her own, but only possible through the finished work of her Savior, Jesus Christ.
This is really pretty! Thanks for writing this. 🙂
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this powerful poem!
It’s very beautiful!
You’re so sweet. I’m glad it impacted you. 🙂
Beautiful! I love it!
Aww! Thank you!
Gorgeous! This holds such a powerful message. 🙂
I’m so glad you liked it. Thank you for the encouragement!
Beautiful job!
Thank you so much!
Wow! Gave me shivers! Well done, it really spoke to me so thanks.
Shivers? Wow! I’m so glad God spoke to you through me.
This is so beautiful! <3
Thank you so much, Lin! 🙂
Katherine – so true and so wonderful. <3 Thank you for sharing this piece with us. I cannot say how many times I've lived this poem…and I am so blessed to be able to read it 🙂
Thank you so much! Believe me, I’ve lived it too. I’m so glad it blessed you!
You grabbed me from the title!! I love metaphors, and this one is no exception!! Well done, you poet you! Keep up the great work. 🙂
Thank you so much! I had lots of fun messing with the metaphors in this one. I’m glad it shows!
Wow, that was beautiful! I love the amount of truth you put into it!
Thank you very much! It’s really encouraging to hear that you picked up on God’s truth in my words.