The Boy With Green Hair
Author: Bill Roberts
The boy with green hair
shakes my hand vigorously and
says it’s a pleasure to meet me
as he stands beside his proud grandmother
in the kitchen she is in the midst
of cleaning on Thursday morning,
Elaine bringing her grandson with her
on this alternate week when she cleans
our already clean house, pre-cleaned
by my wife before their arrival so as
not to be branded an untidy housekeeper.
I tell Christian I like his hair with the
electric green streak down the middle
and say he must be an environmentalist.
He says he’s eight though most people
take him to be ten or more because
of his size, and yes he is environmentally
conscious, being from Arizona and fond of
snakes, most land creatures and everything
that flies, especially butterflies and airplanes.
He also warns me that I have a wasp problem.
He means out in the backyard, which he’s just
finished inspecting, and excuses himself so
he can get to the three books he’s brought
along to read, school books for the summer
so he’ll have a leg up come fall semester.
He and his Grandma will be on their way
next day to fly to Oregon at attend a Creation
Festival, a gathering of Christian people who
enjoy music and share personal experiences.
Christian might tell these good folks
that his mother left him and his Dad just
the year before and is nowhere to be found.
I don’t know if this traumatic event caused him
to dye his hair a hundred-watt green but I’m proud
to have him in our home, intelligent kid that he is.
Who couldn’t love a bright boy with green hair?
(Published online in Issue #9, October 2007, in Thick With Conviction)
Note: Here’s a kid you can’t help pulling for, he tugs at the heart so. Such a bright boy, such a dark event in his young life. So very intelligent, he stands out, even without that vivid green streak down the center of his unkempt hair. I keep monitoring his progress through Elaine. He’s doing well, getting smarter by the day.
