The Process And The Masterpiece! Poem by Denis Martindale

Painting isn't as easy as the drawing,
for it to become great art,
there's an emptying of the heart,
there's the control from the soul,
there's the essence of compressed thoughts,
yet the viewer sees not the process,
merely the finished masterpiece,
merely the snapshot of one's creative genius...

How could they know the everstretching tedium
that is the beginning and the middle,
or that strange moment of realisation,
that moment of ultimate expression,
when one declares with wonder and thanksgiving,
saying, 'It is finished! '?

Then laying down every paint brush,
washing one's hands clean like Pontius Pilate,
standing back to gaze upon the end result,
as if with brand new eyes taking in the detail,
forgetting the process, forgetting the journey,
the private time that others cannot know...
Standing still, admiring the gift God gave,
perhaps with a gulp of astonishment,
then a warm salty tear shed at such artistry,
never before accomplished until now,
yet there it is... the masterpiece!


Denis Martindale, copyright, November 2013.