Shades of Gray
for Alisha
by Danny Earl Simmons

I see fewer shades of gray
these days, have a crisper appreciation
for the black and white of things.

I can see deep inside colors
I never knew existed. I squint
and stare, tilt my head, smile a lot.

The other day, I swear I watched
rain fall for the first time.
Each drop holds a rainbow, you know.

Of course you know. You put them there.

Danny Earl Simmons is Oregonian and a proud graduate of Corvallis High School. He is a friend of the Linn-Benton Community College Poetry Club and an active member of Albany Civic Theater. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in various journals such as Avatar Review, Summerset Review, The Smoking Poet, Toe Good Poetry, and Pirene’s Fountain. A collection of his published poems can be found at dannyearlsimmons.blogspot.com.