The Naked Canvas

The naked canvas sits silently longing for the artist

Who has long been replaced by a charlatan

One whose canvas would be best left blank

Instead of stained with the paints of deceit

This alleged artist has partaken of the Kool-Aid

Subscribing that anything proclaimed as art is art

But if everything is art then nothing is

And if nothing is art then art is nothing

And in this world of nothing the con artist dips his brush

Feigning emotion with each stroke that mars the lonely canvas

Producing a work void of truth and of worth

Saying nothing by those who have nothing to say

And in a time where the void is filled by commerce

The purveyors of perjury pervert the process further

Giving it commercial value by titling it appropriately

A Polar Bear in a Snow Storm

Illusions

Youth and hope conspire to create a single scenario of success as inevitable and propel the naïve neophyte into action

Fueled by this knowledge, our pristine Pollyanna proclaims its intentions and expectations which fall upon a deaf and cruel world

Undaunted, the innocent doubles its efforts at the cost of all else fully confident that its certain success will squelch its detractors

But truth has the final word on the matter and proves that success is an elusive prize randomly reserved for the fortunate few

Experience and bitterness conspire to create a full future of failure as inevitable and cast the wounded into a quagmire of doubt

Hampered by this knowledge, our pessimistic protagonist’s feats of folly and fear elicit jeers from an unimpassioned and critical world

Undaunted, the desperate doubles its effort at the cost of dignity fully confident that its eventual success will squelch its detractors

But truth has the final word on the matter and proves that actions without purpose procure a hollow and flaccid victory

Wisdom and time conspire to create a rendering of random reality as inevitable and ground the weary on a foundation of understanding

Empowered by this knowledge, our helpless hero resigns from the unwinnable war unnoticed by a preoccupied and disinterested world

Undaunted, the astute redirects its effort at the cost of nothing fully confident that its actual success will confuse its detractors

And truth has the final word on the matter and proves that absolute success and purpose are merely illusions