Dance Across the Canvas – A Poem

*For Sylvia

You have taught me

a new way to use my voice.

The brush and pallet knife

are extensions of my arm.

I’m no longer afraid

to try new things

and explore the forest

of possibilities, to part the trees

or grass that block my path

until I can see the way forwards

with clarity, my vision taking shape

with every stroke of paint.

Every time I pick up my brush

or pallet knife,

I look at the white expanse,

wondering what I will find there,

how I will make

my imagination come alive.

More than anything else,

you have taught me to

dance across the canvas,

honouring the music that I hear

in the wind and attempting to

interpret its song.

Because of you,

I can lose myself in the dance

and find the pieces of myself

that I’d forgotten were there,

waiting to be shown

to the light.