If I were an Artist

I wish I could show you true beauty

to put a frame to what eyes behold.

I wish I could trace your outline

touch your details

brush your shadows

Cutting stone to your remarkable mold.

I wish I could stop time with a pencil

to frame unintentional glory

to capture you, modest

tranquil

serene

Making seconds outlast eternity.

I wish I could capture these moments

these pauses so precious to me

Instants of awe and breathless watching

painting to memory what I perceive.

So brief are these hallowed moments

and so erratically intermittent

that I find myself hoping

lingering

longing

Forgetting the time in between them.

I wish I had the faculty

to contain your gilded beauty.

Instead, I watch, and cherish these moments,

For in them

I love you

and you only.

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Written by

American

Notes: I wrote this poem when I was in a coffee house doing homework. I looked up and saw a girl standing alone, waiting in line. She had not noticed me, and there were brief moments where she looked completely natural, whether unaware or indifferent to the world around her. She was beautiful because she didn't know someone was watching.
Earlier I had been thinking about how I wished I had chosen a more artistic profession. I wanted to be a photographer or a painter, so that I could capture and remember moments like this.
In this poem, I attempt to make sensual the act of capturing the brief moments of this woman's beauty through different artistic styles.

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