Inner Struggle Poem by Rhonda Baker

Deep dark red and silver blue
The color so dense you can't see through
Blowing and shaping to make it sleek
A strong thick figure that isn't weak
Blowing and shaping an elegant piece
Not knowing there in, lives a beast!
Another heat to work with the tools
Not knowing this shape, you will soon lose
The sides now begin to collapse
And on its self it begins to wrap
You try to RECAPTURE the way it use to be
But it will have NONE of it! ... It wants to be free
Now all lumpy, and twisted inside and out
Your heart sinks and begins to pout
You finally surrender, to this work of art
And quit working with your mind, but instead with your heart
There's something there, not a bowl or a vase
But an emotion captured without a face
You put the lip wrap on and reduce the color
The piece you have now is like none other
In the heart of the piece a thin thread resides
A symbol of how our life abides

(I am a glass blower, and this was one of the first pieces I ever worked on. At the Fireworks Glass Studios, in Williamston MI)