BLESSING FOR ARTISTS

Bless self-appointed arbiters of beauty.

Perennial spring we inhabit, bless our lives.
Bless every peace-maker in the after/before.
Every brave silhouette, bless.

Bless create, bless create, bless create.
Bless hearts that beckon, create!

Bless sound of levity, flesh-frozen clarity,
bless what cuts quick to the marrow.

Love unusual utterance, love audience undeterred.
Bless expression undressing its meaning.
Love exaggerated touch, love exasperated look.
Bless panoramic snapshot proliferating.

For anyone who cries at the crack of an egg,
for anyone who has competed with the sun,
for anyone lost for words at the family reunion,
your solace— a bubbling reservoir.

Bless implosion and explosion.
Bless the god-catchers in their silk pajamas.
Bless bedraggled, unalienable artifacts.
Bless technicolor tantrums for sale.

Broken windows beside blessed murals.
Whoever overrides impulse with craft, bless.
Whoever supplants craft with impulse, bless.
Shaken spirits rise to obliterate indifference.

Bless force for change and vain reflection,
brush away feats and external markings.
Bless omnivorous eyes framing the next feast.
Expression disproving death— bless.