Message To My Grandchild
by Lucy Cortese
An infinite canvas arrived the day of your birth
blank, white, awaiting the artistry of your hands
Incorporate the primary colors of your pallet
genetics, place of birth, ancestral heritage
Add to these the secondary pastels of growing up
education, experiences, interactions with others
Blend and pour a lifetime of multicolor hues
character, ethics, respect, understanding, wisdom
Balance your life painting with tints of light
faith and love, laughter and fun, joy and success
Shade your picture with the texture of darkness
trial and error, tears and hurt, discernment and sorrow
Explore the entire spectrum of abilities and possibilities
Aim for the highest vertical and widest horizontal
Discover your talents
Find your passion
Live and grow, laugh and cry with contrasting intensity
Mix and match your pigments, endless, ever evolving
awash with the never-ending textures that you alone choose
Utilize every medium from fading watercolors to permanent oils
Let not the easel, brushes or paints limit your imagination
Know that you are the creator of your destiny
master artist of your extraordinary existence
Paint your life mural, a collage uniquely yours
Celebrate the rainbow that completes your canvas
Allow me to observe, guide, support, love unconditionally
and forever to bask in the masterpiece that is you
Artist: Lucy Cortese
Genre: Poetry
Bio: Since retirement my avocation is my vocation, freelance writing. Technical writing of past professional life evolved into creative genres of poetry, short fiction and memoir. I want to invoke the spectrum of human emotions in my reader: longing to laughter, pain to promise, despair to discernment. Living my mission statement, Each 1, Teach 1, I am a mother, grandmother and lifelong educator.
Piece: Message To My Grandchild
Piece Description: I penned this poem and gifted it to each of my grandchildren. It is my tapestry of words of wisdom.