Glue and Sandpaper - Dec. 6, 2024

let’s face it we lie in degrees

with friends family strangers

enemies even ourselves

making our portraits a forgery

a patchwork of rounded edges

and untruths stuck over the picture

of the painter who watches from inside

but a dare of honesty can release

part of that rough-edged persona

peel back a corner of the portrait

and reveal some of the original

a threat to those with closets

of sandpaper and glue extra brushes

and paint who continue to adjust

and polish who they are

in the end I believe what we all want

is to grab the knife and cut away

everything that covers us

expose each other’s dark corners

to the honest light of day