Artist's Paean
My part of the social contract,
my cultural role
is to dig deep down into the depths
of my soul,
which connects to
the collective whole
to fully merge with that landscape
become every bit of soil, every seed,
explore the before,
becoming,
the bereaved,
paint it in color,
texture, tone, in language
that is mine alone
grown from and refeeding
the collective tongue.
Whatever the value we perceive
and pay into the collective purse
to receive
art gives beauty, pleasure, entertainment,
elevation of mundane experience,
communication of politics and pain,
and ways to sustain intimacy, explain
personal perplexities, move beyond
boundaries, feel more than, embrace
a common destiny, absorb accumulated
wisdom, reason to believe in more than
-- on and on into mystery, history, possibility,
fantasy and wonder.
All this the artist gives, payment for the
sustenance of inspiration
refueling our power
to give ever more.
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