Each word, brush stroke, and
movement (physical or musical),
conveys a maze of emotions, a
moral or motive,
                              and
it does so with intention. Art
has a purpose, even in the most
conservative or mundane setting,
it brightens walls, pumps life
into the our superficially sterile
environment,
                        filling space
often reserved for mediocrity. Art,
any art, is a celebration, an occasion,
a happening or happenstance,
behind which rests a soul
                           struggling
to release frustration and fact.
The premise of art
                                 is simple,
though in all its complexity
lives are lived and memories retold.
Sometimes the moments are
hardly even bold, but in
each nuance there is blood rushing,
and a voice dying (no, living)
to be heard.
Art, any art,
                     is an attempt
not to dream, and not to believe,
but to breathe.
                   Art is a reason for being.
To uncap your mind, and
                 open your eyes,
is to brush away the cobwebs, and
clear out the channels limiting
society’s authentic ways. To embrace,
or accept,
or even acknowledge effort,
is to allow a word to exist on
a weather-beaten page, an abstract
concept to play out on another plane,
a sound to survive yet another day,
                              and a dance to be
negotiated through an
inevitably cramped space.
Art, any
art,
       is communication
        if not
confrontation.
Address your demons, speak up
for those who choose not to,
                                 push back
minds who see investment and value
as only monetary concerns.
Increase your worth. Don’t let art
          become just another choice,
shape your work
in the rhythm of a voice.

©2016 j.g. lewis