The Artist

Stained Glass


I didn't know in the beginning
It all seemed scattered
No real structure
Paint cans and brushes

She changes her mind
So did Leonardo
and Michaelangelo
Painting over the mistakes

She never had the opportunity
Past lives, past loves
Repressed her
Like a seedling underfoot

When she realized
she had been released
She grew slowly
Took small steps

She transformed
a broken pipe
and shattered concrete
into a marble hall.

Bare windows
overlooking an alley
became Notre Dame
or a field of roses

Brick by brick
she rebuilt a house
with paint
and stencil

She wipes out the past
makes a new future
where beautiful things
cover the ugly

When someone this old
becomes a child again
it is a wonderful thing
to behold