The onset of our lives begins as a blank canvas
At times we can paint breathe taking art work
Or write words that move souls
Not all canvases are to be painted fully
And yet there are times when life itself will paint or write on this canvas
Dictating the portrait that will be seen
Portrait written over portrait
Words written over word
Or even the words written and intertwined within the art
And there lies a girl
Ravaged and exhausted
Laying on the bed with the sweat dripping on her forehead
Kept awake by the nightmares
The thumping heart that wont cease
The terrors from her past invading her slumber
She leaves the bed and walks through the kitchen into the balcony
Cigarette in her hand
She takes a long drag as she looks out into the world
The bass from the music vibrating through the windows
On the rail where she has put her feet
The silence
The lights going off all around
She stays there lost in her own world
Thinking of nothing and everything
She is a work of art
You can see the cut she got when she was cooking
The tiny burn marks from the oven
The missing bone on her hand
The lil scars she has all over her body each with its own tale
And yet she is an unfinished master piece
No one sees where she was painted black
By the darkness and coldness of the world
The betrayal that ripped the fine threads of her canvas
Of which she had to mend with the little she had left
The blue and purple from the times she was bruised after the battering
How in some parts the canvas is old and worn from the times she was used
How words of self hate and loathing
Ridicule, failure and deceit
Are written all over
Nor do you see the dried mud on the corner of her canvas
From those times she had to drag herself out of the rough
You wouldn't even see the red dots of died blood
That she shed from her heart
The dried stains of sweat from all her hard work
No one sees these
Because she wrote and drew over them
Even when life put its mark
She had to put her own
All we see now is a portrait of her
And the word life right on her chest
Hope in each of her eyes
Warmth in her hands
It is always darkest before the dawn
The clouds in the sky part
Small rays of sunshine seem to escape
The sun finally comes out
With its heat and light and promise of a new day
She takes her last drag and puts off the cigarette
Radiating anew from the inside
Always waking to see the sunrise
For it assures her and reminds her
Regardless of how dark and cold it gets
No matter how quiet and alone one gets
A new day will come
The sun will rise
The birds will sing
People will awake
And she wont feel alone anymore
She looks up and says a small thank you
And smiles at the prospect of a better today.
Jah Bless
