The Artist

The Artist



As a young man, he found that nature’s ways
were inspired, unbound before his gaze.
Driven! Driven! His life was changed
as other interests were estranged.
Before his canvas, he’d paint and he’d draw
driven to capture the beauty he saw.

With texture and bright hues, he’d carefully blend
each color he’d choose, as onward he’d wend.
Focused! Focused! Oh, how he tried.
With each failure, part of him died
until his soul was forgotten and lost,
focused on his goal and not what it cost.

Tormented, he could not find any peace.
With each new effort, he'd find no release.
Madness! Madness! He could not stand
that what he saw failed at his hand.
Sitting in darkness, both inside and out,
madness crept into his feelings of doubt.

He sat withdrawn, no more dreams to be wrought.
In the fi’ry dawn, he found what he sought.
He smiled! He smiled! He understood
compared to nature, his was good
but only a copy, not creation.
He smiled. In failure, he found salvation.

Notes:

An entry for Round 57 of "Invalid Item" 

Prompt(s):

Image

Form: A Staccato is six-line per verse poem. The meter is 10/10/8/8/10/10 with an aabbcc rhyme. It also requires an internal rhyme between lines 1 and 2 and a repetitive two-syllable repeat - two in line 3 and one in line 6. It’s complicated! See Shadow Poetry   for more information.


Thank you for taking time to read my words. I would appreciate it if you took a moment and left a comment. Your reaction, impressions, criticisms, - yes, even praise - are all equally welcome.