Street Muse

Her name was Passion.
Artist’s muse
she lived on the palette.
Primary colors
nostalgic pastels
essence of blended oils.
Brushed with arrogance
sometimes haphazardly,
a thin veneer.
Other times,
piled thick with exacto knife
layer upon layer
covering pain.
Stared at by street lovers
dog catchers
and people pissers,
sometimes the canvas bled
as her tears disrupted the guise.

street-art-2779341_1920

Created for Tuesday Poetics at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets where today I’m hosting and asking folks to use one of five pieces of street art (illustrated in the prompt) as motivation for a poem. All five images are in public domain at Pixabay.com  This is my second post for the prompt. See also Magic Awaits You .

26 thoughts on “Street Muse

  1. Frank Hubeny November 14, 2017 / 4:49 pm

    It does make me wonder what a picture thinks of those people looking at it.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lillian November 14, 2017 / 4:59 pm

      Exactly! Do they “live” on those walls? Kind of like the idea of what the gorilla sees looking out at us looking at him at the San Diego Zoo! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • lillian November 14, 2017 / 4:59 pm

      Thanks for your kind words, Vivian. I do love these street art images! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Shawna November 14, 2017 / 6:16 pm

    Excellent piece. The opening line instantly captivates; fresh and gripping imagery throughout.

    “Brushed with arrogance” … This and the last five lines are my favorite parts.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lillian November 14, 2017 / 6:28 pm

      Thank you Shawna for the very thoughtful reply. Truly appreciated – and glad you enjoyed!

      Like

  3. X November 14, 2017 / 8:06 pm

    If only more fully embraced the passion (in art)
    arrogance made me chuckle…artists have to be willing to embrace all of the emotions
    if they want their audience to understand the emotion.

    The bleeding canvas tears there in the end is wonderful touch.
    Prob my fav part.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lillian November 15, 2017 / 10:45 am

      Thank you for the thoughtful comment. Truly appreciated.

      Like

  4. Grace November 14, 2017 / 8:42 pm

    Sad that the passion of the muse was not truly appreciated ~ Of course the ending lines perfectly captured my initial perspective of the image:

    sometimes the canvas bled
    as her tears disrupted the guise.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lillian November 15, 2017 / 10:46 am

      It’s interesting. I thought of them as tears also…one other person wrote to them as joy…as in the colors seen and then given.

      Like

  5. Sumana Roy November 15, 2017 / 6:12 am

    I also used this picture and wonder of wonders how everyone differs. This is absolutely brilliant.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lillian November 15, 2017 / 10:47 am

      Thank you, Sumana. It is interesting to see the very different interpretations for the same images. And then it makes you wonder, if we could interview the artist, what did they really have in mind? 🙂

      Like

    • lillian November 16, 2017 / 11:44 am

      You’ve go that exactly right!

      Like

    • lillian November 16, 2017 / 11:44 am

      Has been really interesting to see the images folks choose to write about; and then the diversity of the responses to the image. Glad you enjoyed!

      Like

    • lillian November 17, 2017 / 8:19 am

      ‘‘Tis the season when time zips by! I understand completely! 😊

      Liked by 1 person

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