If I were an artist
I’d bathe myself in color
And allow my art to consume me
I’d wash myself with charcoal
And paint my features with pastel
I would wake in the midst of night
And let wonder keep me captive
And I would be an instrument
In Life’s portrait of Us
If I were an artist
Depression would regale me
And I’d soak in its cryptic darkness
I’d pierce myself with modern abstraction
And my lines would be circuitous
People would look at me crazed
And then amazed
Because I’m self-diagnosed artistic
I would lose myself in creative dreams
And hide my most prized reality
I am in fact
Nothing but a paintbrush
Or a pen
But as a creator
I’m priceless
If I were an artist
I think I would be myself
But finally
Others would notice
If only I were an artist