Teach me to be a Blind Man

Together we sit upon a hilltop, just two friends enjoying the peacefulness of nature. Neither of us speaks. Neither of us moves until your voice shatters the silence.  What do colors look like, you ask? How does one explain magic to one who can't see? You seem to sense my predicament through my lack of response and narrow down your question to one color at a time. Well, explaining 'what color grass is' is still a difficult task, but at least it's less of a puzzle than explaining every color at once. I lightly grasp your wrist and run your hand over the soft blades below us.

Green, I explain, is a color that looks like a melody. Not just any kind of melody, mind you. It's the joyful tune that the birds and the jolly old farmer whistle to each other while they work - the happy, simple kind of melody.

That is the kind of sound that green is.

The sky? Its blue hue is the clearest soprano whose voice sends chills through your skin. Hers is the voice who stops a crowd, holds them in suspense, renders them speechless.

That is the kind of voice that blue is.

Now the sunset, that is a tricky one. There are many colors in a sunset. The deep reds dominate the sky like a tenor.  They are not only the color of fire, but they are as versatile as well. Ever so easily, they can shift from the flickering warmth of a candle to the searing heat of a wildfire.

That is the temperature that red is.

Yellow is a funny character.  His wit and charm makes any room brighter as soon as he walks in. Some may find him a bit obnoxious, but this is only because they think his natural light seems out of place. He is a simple man.

That is the kind of person that yellow is.

Purple looks like the feeling of silk sliding across your skin. It is calming and homely. You can sometimes smell purple as well in places like this that are filled with fresh-smelling flowers. Whether the smell or the touch, purple welcomes you like a dry house on a rainy night.

That is the kind of sensation purple is.

Your face remains quiet for a moment as you comprehend my thin grasps of answers to your questions. Have I confused you? I wouldn't blame you, I think I've confused myself. Surprisingly you seem to understand - perhaps because you have never heard anything to contradict my statements. Then you said something that I had never heard before. Me? A color? How curious…I had never imagined a blind  person to think in colors. Oh, thank you for clarifying. Of course you didn't mean actual colors, you were merely helping me to understand.

I can only imagine what that must be like, you know, hearing a person and seeing a color instead of a face. No, I know you don't actually see colors, but I suppose I'm too narrow-minded to think of it any other way. How do you think of me when we're together? Really, like smelling vanilla, huh? Oh, you want me to describe what you look like? That's almost as hard as your previous questions. That's like summing up every worth-while thing in the world in a few sentences. Why worry about what you look like? Let's just leave this at you are a perfect representation of you, and that is that.

You know, maybe it's because we've been talking about it, but I can't help but get this off of my mind. You don't see race or clothing styles, and being blind actually helps you see people for who they are. In fact, I think you're the wisest of anyone I know because you don't see. You don't judge by a person's skin or physical imperfections. In fact, if you could see, you'd probably be afraid of me. Say, I know this is a rather odd request, but now that I've told you all I possibly can about what it is to see-

Teach me to be a blind man.