Taught to aspire to the ordinary, I sought middle ground in school, Studied with the gifted, Dined with the retarded, Painted that first color wheel, Began an affair with turquoise, Missed Brazil, but embraced America, Went from high school hell to college purgatory, Left home in Concord for an Oakland dormitory, Fought the nuns for "A's" at Holy Names, Struggled for "C's" at U.C.D. and a Berkeley "P", Lost to the profs, slaved in their labs, Graduated in History out of pique, Went to Europe to gut my grief, Dwelt in that Darkness In Between, Found Science an addictive drug, Kicked the habit after many years, Emerged from Darkness to 3-Way life Lived for music, poetry and painting, Denied the existence of death, Discovered heaven on an Earth Whose turquoise never makes me blue.