i'm sure the neighbors looked out their windows
streaked with rain,
saw the girl walking along, draped
in rainclouds she was grey,
everything about her screamed sadness,
all the life within her had
long since died.
i'm sure they were concerned,
i'm sure they pitied her,
wondered how the clouds had fallen from the sky
and clung to this girl, with that lovely smile
and sparkling eyes oh how they wished
she would just step inside
and wait for the sun.
-a.c.b

Burning the last of her
             to be their only source of light.

i’ve always loved the rain.
but today was different.
today the rain wasn’t hydrating me,
the rain was drowning me.
poundingpoundingpounding
so hard yet
i couldn’t get up,
just laid there under a smoky sky
a monotone grey
letting the raindrops hit me,
one by one a pinprick
a sting
of the cold water on my bare stomach.
i couldn’t speak, couldn’t move,
couldn’t breathe,
yet at least it reminded me
i am still alive.
-a.c.b

Do you have the supplies? Did you get the shopping list? Okay, good. Let's begin.


    Step 1. Give her a wild mind, a heart that won't settle for "good enough", that won't stop trying.

    Step 2. Show her the world through a window pane, tinted glass. Give her a taste of what beauty could be, but don't give enough to make it last.

    Step 3. Grant her such magic, such power in her veins, that she doesn't fit in anywhere, no mold, no shape, no box. Never let her feel too content. Don't give her enough to feel secure in her state. Keep her floating, treading water, climbing rocks.

    Step 4. Don't help when she's hurt, don't listen when she cries. Let her be lonely. Leave her. Let her fall in, let her drown, let her dive.

    Step 5. Allow the dust to settle, the wet to dry.

    Step 6. Look out! Here comes her soul, on that piece of paper there, her latest masterpiece.


Congratulations. You have made an artist.