Ash and Smoke

Flashes of memories churn to flame and ash.

Glass shatters in the blaze as someone screams,

Beaten from the combustion blue within.

Passing train narrowly misses a sister I wrenched away,

Skips a pedestrian,

But seizes a friend, never to be seen again.

I am a stranded bystander witnessing

Transfer from burn to hospital

Scrape to hospital

Slash to hospital.

Then an invitation into the blaze

Follows love still foreign left in a haze.

My demons put out the flame into smolders,

My face and throat enveloped and severed by 

Billowing ash and smoke.

From spark to smolder,

I’m left whispering screams.

Art Institute

 Laughing and chatting is all and good

But here in this artgallery, don't say a word.

Quietly discuss these masterpieces,

Their mysteries, symbolism, motifs, and more.

I'm silently screaming for you to slow down

Quiet down,

Reflect now.

Look, see, process, learn.

You look, laugh, distract, turn to phones.

Like "The Artist Looks at Nature,"

I know it's in your nature to be engulfed in your phone.

To focus on food,

But you miss the art,

Food for thought,

You miss the nuances around you.

It's not wrong to connect with friends.

Your friends you see everyday.

But these masterpieces whisper for your attention.

For you to use your mind

And find the intricacies.

To find your identity in history.

In every brushstroke,

Photo,

Cannvas and frame.

Laugh with your friends

As you recognize the absurd beauty that is abstract art.

Find your muse in Monet.

Your gaze in Degas.

Find the discreet light in Albright.

You might not appreciate it how I do.

But slow down,

And you might find something stir in you

Through you.

Shape you.

Move you.