Charcoal

Charcoal

is our preferred method

with which to sketch our days

thick, dark swaths of pigment

that smear and make their mark 

unapologetically

abstract, flowing, influential

or gashes across the page

like wounds that won't close

and neither are ugly

though we can't erase them

they are the foundations of your life

but details make the picture

the careful lines and smudges

noticing a twinkling eye

or smiling with all your teeth 

and everyone you meet

is drawing their own

conclusions and beginnings

unfinished works

marbled with messy, rushed greetings

and slow, agonizing goodbyes

strapped to our backs and worn on our sleeves are these masterpieces

everyday being dotted

with someone else's charcoal

our sketches are never finished

but always beautiful

but we forget, somehow:

we are all art.