I stand before an empty canvas,
Pallet ready, brush in hand,
Intent on painting a self portrait,
Colors all at my command,
Yet as I try to cast an image,
Of the man that I do see,
I realize the barren canvas,
Already looks a lot like me.
The eyes, devoid of all emotion,
A face that's pale from loneliness,
No expression, lacking hope,
Yet oddly textured from duress,
Blank and empty like my heart,
Within my chest I feel it beat,
There's nothing more that I could add,
And thus my portrait is complete.
I lay aside the unused pallet,
Untouched colors still in place
Return the brushes to the drawer,
And gaze upon this ghostly face,
I notice only one thing missing,
As I place it in its frame,
I take a pen in trembling hand,
And silently I sign my name...
L. Carling
Author notes
monkey brains
In a list
A contest entry
- Your BEST Prewrite! - For Mike [degarmo] - by Never Fall in Love.
950 points, ended October 29, 2007, 130 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - OptionsOptionsPleaseEnter [PW] by stargazer..
800 points, ended July 20, 2008, 18 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Become a Favourite! by BabyBun.
400 points, ended November 3, 2008, 47 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Tell Me About The Other You by storiesuntold.
495 points, ended December 7, 2008, 18 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Warts And All! by Walking Oxymoron.
700 points, ended February 5, 20 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Rhyme,Lyrics, Prose, Dirty Pretty. by Antebellum.
800 points, ended September 24, 290 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 23 of 23
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"As I place it in its frame,
I take a pen in trembling hand,
And silently I sign my name..."
This is amazing.
thank you so much for entering.
good luck. -
wow amazing is all I can say that is one of the best poems I have ever read
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Wow, eerie. Very unique write
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Wow... I can see why you won gold.
I cannot explain how this touched me.
It was actually incredible. Sad you feel so empty, so lonely.
Incredible imagery used... I'd never have thought of that.
I only wish I could write something as meaningful.
Wow...
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Eyes wide shut
This is an exceptional write and yes often when we look upon ourself we often refuse to see our own wealth for over time we have shut our eyes to our accomplishments and therefore began to feel there is nothing left .Where others who have tried to reach out to us are pushed away they say you have everything to live for and you refuse their vision of you .Why why would you refuse to see what others see in you for they arent bias of their feelings they dont have an inner voice telling them
to refus e to listen .Take the hands of those who loves you and you will find that person is still within you begging to get out and be free you are your own jailer so why not set syourself free Live and the instand you diecide you will see
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Hi - thanks for entering my contest - I enjoyed this. Best of luck!
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wow. the thought process behind this is so unique & it truely saddened me to read this. noone should ever be so lonely & blank. you may not have been able to paint yourself with colored, but you penned it perfectly. great write!
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This is an outstanding poem I read it from beginning to end and as soon as this contest ends i will add you as a favorite because i love the way you write and express emotions.
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This is an outstanding poem I read it from beginning to end and as soon as this contest ends i will add you as a favorite because i love the way you write and express emotions.
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Bravo
This is a great write. So sad yet telling
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HOODWINKED!!!
wonderful write. i really like this:
As I place it in its frame,
I take a pen in trembling hand,
And silently I sign my name...
thank you for sharing this. you are very talented! i look forward to reading more of your work. keep writing! God bless you always
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Hoodwinked
I love this piece alot
lay aside the unused pallet,
Untouched colors still in place
Return the brushes to the drawer,
And gaze upon this ghostly face,
I notice only one thing missing,
As I place it in its frame,
I take a pen in trembling hand,
And silently I sign my name...
Very nice indeed
-
I stand before an empty canvas,
Pallet ready, brush in hand,
Intent on painting a self portrait,
Colors all at my command,
Yet as I try to cast an image,
Of the man that I do see,
I realize the barren canvas,
Already looks a lot like me.
I love this stanza
This poem is very beautiful and descriptive good luck in the contest -
Raker, raker, raker...
You do absolute cheating because this is just one of my favourite poems from you. [I like three thousand, three hundred and three] or something like that. But this is most definately so good. The rhyme is as usual spot on - and dear, some people on my finalists list have some competition coming this way.
Good Luck in the contest and thank you for entering
Never ♥ -
Wonderful
Such a wonderful write Sir. It could also be me. -
I have read and commented on this one before! I enjoyed it even more the second time around I think I need to look for a thesaurus for some more superlatives...
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"so fuck, i thought i could take time to do a contest.
eh. i cant. im screwed. sorry..i feel bad."
edited the contest, i am sorry.
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An excellent write, I enjoy your poems so much. And I thought this was an exceptional peice because it is honest and deep. I feel as though there are many others who could relate to this.
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Haunting
A hauntingly beautiful write Raker. I know exactly how you feel... -
This is a very sad self portrait, but beautifully penned. What do any of us really see when we look in a mirror?
A thoroughly enjoyable poem. Good luck in the contest, and I want to say 'Cheer up'....Sue
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wow. I like it. ^_^ And since I'm in art cass right now it makes even more sense.
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Very Herartfelt My Friend
Good morning Rakerman, The words you have penned within your poem are beautiful but kind of sad.
I hope you truly see you as other do. No way are you a blank canvas. You are alive with colors deep within your soul, just waiting to burst open. Excellent write. Thanks for sharing. Take care, Sandy 
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Just for the fun of it...
'Self Portrait'....I enjoyed the imagey my dear poet friend....remember the best is always yet to come...T'was my pleasure to read this from thee..as always; Sandra
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