Blank Canvas

A blank canvas
That is me
The unmade bed
The formaldehyde 
I can have it all
A pure white frame
That is me
The dissected shark
How I suffer for my art

Only just begun
The paint pallet
Untouched, until
I paint my eyes 
Below the brow
A shade for an occasion
I could follow any path
Too young to fret where it leads
Against a wall, I start to sleep

Aged and flaking
That will be me
The oak tree evaporated
Set in stone, a fountain
The zest for life drying
A frame stained by hands
That will be me
The aging process
Stained in silent protest

Nearing the end
The paint flaked
Touched, until
I paint the wrinkles
Now no one wants me
A shade of white for an apparition
I regret each path
Too old to complain, a vault for a tomb
The aging process from canvas, from womb
Copyright © | Year Posted 2008

Poem

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Parish Avatar
February 23, 2009 at 6:31 PM
Well done write Nathaniel, I liked the aging process and in all reality, that's the we are..aging.
Bungay Avatar
January 12, 2009 at 6:33 AM
your so talented.
Swanson Avatar
December 11, 2008 at 12:59 PM
I really enjoyed this, had a lot of depth, I loved how in the beginning the speaker is the blank canvass... ready to live... but then the poem takes us through the courses and twists and turns that life inevitably gives each of us... and each phase of life is compared to the painting process. The end is beautiful and sad, and leaves the reader really thinking. Brilliant writing, I am faving it. :) God bless, Amy
Bickerstaffe Avatar
December 11, 2008 at 12:35 PM
Magnificent my friend! Shades of the helplessness and hopelessness of Plath... she must be a favourite of yours. '...stained in silent process,' '...the zest for life drying,' ...powerful phrasing. Sylvia will be smiling... Best wishes, Keith
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