a whiter shade of pale

i may have already told you this story

i saw tracy chapman
at a really cool venue
it had been a bank
back when banks were glamorous
enormously high ceiling
marble everywhere
and
for the venue
there was a balcony
which was probably added
but i'm not certain
i'd never been in the bank

she was down on the stage
and i was leaning over the railing of the balcony
trying to get a good view
it was pretty exciting
i think it might be the first time
i ever saw a musician in anyplace other
than like the big sports area type place
or the music hall
which was bigger than this

and
what i remember best
she had a band-aid on her arm
and somebody asked her about it
and she said how wrong it was
that they were supposed to be "flesh tone"
when they were obviously not her flesh tone

and
mind blown
i had always wondered why they were brown
i had never realized
they were supposed to be flesh tone
it never occurred to me
i had many many times wondered
why they made them dark brown so they stood out
so noticably
i had never realized
i was just that much paler than "normal"