I am an artist
My blessing is my curse
I see life in bold Technicolor
See light in frightening, dark places
Feel heat in cold spaces
Hear words in voiceless places
See pain in lost faces
I rejoice sincerely and shed tears
For people I do not know
I see life through a childs eyes one moment
In the next through the eyes of a very old soul
I taste, touch, feel, hear, smell and see
All things around me
Near
And far
I require challenge
In order to live and breathe
I am driven to provide comfort to those around me
They need only ask
Through paint and canvas
Music
Words on paper
And spoken word
And through touch
For only those few I hold most dear
As I listen and hear
What is said
And what is not said
And I give to them what is laid on my heart
And set on fire within my spirit
Sometimes providing direction, support or laughter
Other times exposing nerves
Painfully
Ripping away bandaids that conceal wounds
Removing hands that cover eyes
Revealing things most would not see
Or dare to speak of

I am an artist
My blessing is my curse
My need to create, experience and heal
Myself and others
To create joyful moments
To incite deep thought and enlightenment
Is constant
I feel emotion all around me
And fight each day
Not to let empathic ways
Absorb the darkness
The anger
The pain
The injury
All around
And claim them as my own
My roads are less traveled
Thought processes unique
I take a little piece of everything
I encounter
And it becomes a living collage of me

I am an artist
My blessing is my curse
I am torn
Living a life that I must
Wanting a life that brings no stability
Wishing I could live
One way or the other
I struggle to find balance
And peace
Within
Needing to breathe life
And to add to it’s canvass
A very lonely path
With few who understand
Or who are willing and able
To travel by my side for more than a season
Unable to compromise or settle
For anything less
Than everything
A soulmate

I am an artist
My blessing is my curse
As I reach out to the universe
Praying she will guide us to each other
Another artist
Who is able to provide what I need
One who shares my passions
One who will support me
And be a conduit of my creator
To energize me when I have given
More than I should give
One who will sacrifice
A man who will share my burdens
Help me carry them when I am tired
And inspire me to set them down when I can
One I can trust
To do as he says
Honest with himself and others
One who will give and receive joy
Yet one who will plant his feet
Like deep roots in good earth
Hold tightly like strong vines
Produce joy like flowers in Spring
And cover me like leaves in the Fall
One who is worthy of being
A blessing to end my curse