by Andrew Roberts

A clean canvas.
A white wonder.
A blank beauty:
waiting,
wanting to be composed.

So much opportunity at stake:
the power withheld in the brush,
the creativity beyond the brain,
a palette full of blended splendor.

A damp palm,
shaking.
A curious mind,
wondering.
Stiff fingers,
bending.

Creative concepts clash
between barriers 
bound by four edges,
in an abyss of linen.
But the brush 
hits the fabric, still.
Lines are formed.
Shapes are assembled.

Mountains of paint,
rivers of color,
vegetation of textures,
trees of oil.
Inspiration escapes,
the cerebral gears slow down:
the hands,
the head,
the insight,
the impetus—
all go idle
on the seventh day.

A story
told by one
big picture.
A story 
told by God.

Yes, the Painter drives 
the nail in place
and lifts His canvas 
from the easel.
He hangs His creation 
on the wall
and says, “It is good.”

Andrew Roberts is a published poet, thespian, and musician. He has been published in The Way Back to Ourselves Literary Journal, and his favorite acting role was playing Edward Carmichael in You Can’t Take it With You. He loves to help others through his school’s leadership institute and enjoys his creative writing class best. When he isn’t in school, he plays story-mode video games and studies story-telling media so he, too, can become a better writer. He dreams of becoming a working actor and playwright one day. He loves spending his downtime with his friends and family.