Prometheus fashioned his men carefully
as if he knew 
they would inhabit the earth
for a long time 
once they could breathe.

He surveyed them with satisfaction,
beautiful earthenware bodies
all with different features
splendidly clay-coloured,
earth-made for Earth.

He almost called Zeus right then
to view his creations,
but he had second thoughts,
as artists always do,
maybe a little tweak was needed,
a little tweak,
or perhaps, a little colour.

He searched the earth for pigments
and coloured his men.
The blue and green were his favourites
though he was pleased with them all.
It was then that he called Zeus.

Zeus appeared at once in great excitement 
in his eagerness to see the new men.
He looked for them impatiently,
but they were smaller than he expected
so at first he didn’t see them at all
and as his big feet stood heavily down
trampling the ground as big feet often do, 
he crushed them.

So that is why 
there are no blue men
and no green men now.
They were the unlucky ones
those blue and green men,
broken beyond repair.
The fortunate few,
the brown and black,
the yellow, the ivory and the pink
all survived the footfall.
The colours of man are so limited now
but sometimes the dust gleams with colour.

[Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and a Rhysling Award.  She can also be found on Facebook.]