Grow Up

At that age, it seemed freedom reigned,
The rules set by the sun.
They gave us colors, they gave us brushes,
They let us paint the fun.

Then that day came,
I don’t remember when,
But all we had was ink.
It was blue, or it was black,
And they told us how to think.

So we thought, their straight-edge thoughts,
We filled bubbles on the test.
They told us what to memorize,
We put our art to rest.

Years went on, we learned nothing new,
Just that already taught.
We followed rules, we went to class,
A system seldom fought.

Then one day, the rising sun,
It reminded me to play.
I picked up paints,
I colored fun,
And art was here to stay.