GIFTS

Words are Gifts


A Juggle of Colors

The orchestra played the most melodic tunes. The talent was evident, enchanting voices piped with the instruments, so beautifully. The high tones drew the congregation in.

There were interludes when the autobiography was read by a popular local actor, selected purposely for his baritone voice. That set the scene. The elderly man wrote his life story when he was eighty. Planned every bit of his funeral, to the last beat. He passed at age eighty-five.

It was my dear classmate’s father’s funeral. In Ghana we wear black for funerals, this time the family requested black and red. Most locals have the blouse- kaba and a long skirt- slit, we wear for funerals.

It was a packed Saturday, I knew I had to make a quick turnaround in order to attend my dear friend’s sixtieth birthday luncheon.

After the funeral, I quickly changed into my white dress and got to venue number two on time. The accepted colour for such events is white. On entering the garden, I was met with a sea of white outfits.

Color in my culture is very symbolic, I could not have worn the first outfit to the second event.



5 responses to “A Juggle of Colors”

  1. Love this insight into the importance of colour. You paint a picture with words and the scene shifts dramatically with the change of wardrobe. Hope both events gave you what you needed. ;0

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I’m sorry to hear about your loss.

    I think it’s interesting a specific color, red, was added into the request for funeral dress. I’ve heard of that before, but have never seen it. At Jewish funerals, we just wear black (or the darkest navy we can find). There’s something lovely about adding a pop of color… a way to see the joy amidst the sorrow.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Thank you for this slice; I’m so sorry for your loss. The juxtaposition of the two different events and colors really resonates.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. It does sound like a lot of “juggling of colors” for two very different events. Thank you for sharing about the importance of color.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Your description of the funeral sets up the rest of this piece: the high voices in contrast with the baritone. I appreciate how that relates to the way you presented the contrasting colours – and then, of course, the contrast between the celebration of the end of life and continued life. Thank you for sharing these moments with us.

    Liked by 1 person

Leave a reply to Radutti Cancel reply

About Me

I am an Elementary school teacher , I taught at an International IB School in Accra, Ghana. I am now teaching in Hanoi. Writing is my passion and I try to write daily, at least in my sentence a day journal, to capture all the blessings around me. I write with groups of writers, such as Teach Write and sometimes Ethical ELA. I also encourage my friends to write , so I created a platform to make that possible -Writing Run.

Newsletter