The artist is poised Sipping its poison At war with its liver still
Consumed with ill health Choking on blood clots Knowing that its time is near but hoping to gnaw off a leg
The canvas primed The palette waiting to find use in its hands The artist stands not knowing what shape its monument may take
But its soul bursts forth Though form unseen Snaked lines of paint
Spread like magma over ice Shattering the stigma of imagination And transcending conscious thought
As cold light breaks in through the window Breathless it collapses
In a heap Arak spilled Taking a last day’s breath of life
The hour is growing late Still on its knees the artist is heaving Producing only blood and pus Struggling just to stand
This art is useless
How can one hope to press on with the end of life encroaching? Fear though dulled by aquae vitae presses the artist on
A vision appears Tangible as smoke, but there regardless
Now weakly shaking, brush in hand the artist continues
Rethinking forms, and speaking dissonant shapes With each stroke of its brush it brings life to its death
This art is useless if nothing comes of it All art is useless
Tell me someday I will be remembered For more than the hands I shook The people I loved
The days I spent seeking the strength to get out of bed The hours in front of screens The dreams I wish I could have lived Or will someday If only, if only I had the strength to press on in the face of fear
Hulking and hopeless the artist forces itself through the wall of vines and thorns
And all the while forlorn and resigned Feeling the encroaching and pacing night Nipping at its weary ankles Eyes clouded by cataracts
There born an unknown form Snaked paint and confused lines Weave Abstracted and fevered visions Holding back tears the artist mourns its life in passing Though in this moment the artist’s harrowed breathing slows
Years pass in days Children are born and grow old The product of creation Waiting to be found A heap of bones feet away Unmissed, unmourned The canvas gathering dust Its worth fading with sentiment Though time endears all things And be it treasure or trash Painted with panted gasps That piece was for its maker And those who may simply see it For its shapes and forms Never for the life poured Into its basin Are blind to the beauty Of the moment of birth All art is nothing But death given abstract form