To you, she was splattered paint on a wrinkled page
Half stuck to your wall by one piece of tape
You always looked past it, but wouldn't throw it away
You barely realized how it complimented your day
So many colors, so bright, no direction
An overwhelming mess serving as calming affection
But still, you were passively looking, searching for art
Waiting to lay eyes on something that would pull on the strings of your heart

You wanted something flawless, with pretty pastels
Something that at upper-scale auctions would always sell
Once you found it you'd take her down
Bid her farewell, thank her for being around
Everyday you'd look past her unaware of the comfort she provided
Who could blame you? She wasn't what you were looking for, you just collided

Overtime, the tape weakened but you didn't see
You left the window wide open and she drifted away freely,
You came home and noticed something was different, but at first didn't know why
You noticed the painting was gone and to your surprise, started to cry
For the first time in a long time you felt that pulling at the strings of your heart
For the first time in your lifetime you realized that painting was art

No wonder you could never find it, that painting was yours
But you were never proud to own it, so it was no more
It's funny how they say art is never appreciated until the artist is gone
Such a tortured process the glory takes so long
Van Gogh was overlooked now he's timeless
His work went from invisible to priceless
To let something like that escape would be a sin
Some people save up their whole lives for a piece of him

So let her be your Van Gogh,
only appreciated once she had to go
Her messy colors once meant nothing to you,
now they're all you'll know

It was dead of winter, the air, silent and cold
Layers of fresh snow falling, stacking on the old
I was completely frozen and felt so alone
I didn't realize how long i'd be waiting on my own

Then, in a dark shadow something caught my eye
I saw a warm smile, on which I felt I could rely
You knew to approach me slowly, so I wouldn't be scared away
For the first time in a long time I was seeing the light of day

You gently reached for my arm to guide me on my way
I felt your warm blooded skins touch through my every vein
You paused for a moment and I was confused
You said to close my eyes there was one thing you had to do

I felt you place something around my wrist
I was so immersed in the warm touch I barely noticed it
Although there was nothing to see, it felt thin like string
Oh well, never mind I thought, lets see what this journey may bring

So we walked and walked and laughed until the spring
Our laughter harmonized with the birds as they started to sing
We walked side by side, so closely but never crossed paths
I would've felt more whole being your other half

When it got dark at night you lit the path for me
I didn't know how important a stranger could one day be
One day it rained and I turned to you
When I saw you were the cloud, I didn't know what to do

I thought it's simple, it must be me
I must just attract these type of things
The rain cleared and you were there
We were still walking I just didn't know where

After every storm i'd drift slightly away to avoid the rath
Its hard to go far though when you feel like you're missing half
I tried to get the storms to stop, but you always had a reason
You had an explanation for why it had to rain in every season

It was understandable,  easy to accept and believe
What was my other choice I wasn't going to leave
One day it rained so hard I fell
I didn't feel the pain entranced by the rain's somber smell

The pain lasted, as did the rain
I could barely catch my breath or stay sane
I knew it once and for all I had to step away
I could see in the distance the dawn of a new day

But when I started to walk away, I couldn't really leave
There was a string attached to you, bound to my sleeve

It was sewn on so tight, there was no space to see
I knew if I were to cut it off, it would cut a little of me
But I realized wounds heal, it's okay to bleed
Sometimes If you feel like you can't be free, freedom is what you need

Vacant bodies taking on roles in stories,
defining meaning of one another,
blank slates taking on infinite colors,
painted red with love and pain,
painted white with pure beginnings,
and painted black with tarnished ends