My Favorite Artist

It’s hard
to watch talent
go unnoticed
to get swept
into corners
with cobwebs
and small clods
of dirt and dust

It’s hard
to watch ambition
get tangled up
and tied down
in the daily toil
and struggle of
just trying
to survive

I hope you know
how proud I am
of all your paintings
even the ones
you don’t like
even the ones
no one else
will ever see

I hope you know
your art matters
and just because
things didn’t work out
the way you’d hoped it would
when you were younger
doesn’t mean
you’re not exceptional

Art by Sarah Stupak