Poetry From My Palette

I have written you a poem, dear.

You must read it with your heart.

There are no words, but the colors

Are full of thoughts and art.

If you cannot think it’s true,

Stop thinking and start to feel

The magic that a purple or a yellow

Will begin to make you heal.

See that red, the gentle spread

It makes upon the page?

By itself it could mean blood,

Or joy and brave happiness on a stage.

The green is a symbol to me of growth,

The magic that happens in summer and spring.

The earth blossoms in colors we can’t match,

And for me, they seem to sing!

What’s your favorite, dearest child?

The blue, the yellow, the lightest pink?

There’s power in the glowing gold,

And darkness in the finest mink.

If we could give each color a sound,

What kind of music would we hear?

A high treble note might be white,

And a bass note a bitter chocolate tear.

All the sounds could be a symphony

Or just a clatter of physical vibrations.

Sometimes, colors can hide a power –

Which acts on every part of a human’s foundations.

One of my favorite quotes is from Hans Hoffmann:

“In nature, light creates the color. In the picture, color creates the light.”

What he says is artfully true,

It’s a matter of the mindset, not the eyesight.

So you, my child, see what you want to see.

Georgia O’Keeffe said “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way

—things I had no words for.”

Do you think her words can be represented by colors?

Her paintings speak volumes without a sound, but more:

The colors can make your spirits soar.

Take you away from your earthly stance

To lively places of the world’s endless hues.

Or to the stars, whose light bears eons of dreams to dance.

Some of my favorite quotes for you to soak up, sweetheart:

Remember that fifty people will have fifty different reds in their minds.

That’s part of the wonder, the magic, the individual senses

And perception, of course, the limitless, separate determined finds.

So read, and see, and take it with you wherever you go.

The richness will be multiplied by your eager eyes and soul.

This poem for you comes from my life’s time and toil,

And experiences I cherish from my human goal.

These are those quotes to give you a better start…

Remember color is life, not just pictures and art…

Color is the place where our brain and the universe meet.

You can spend a lifetime studying the interaction of colors,

And painting how red can dance so someone’s way of seeing is transformed.

A thimbleful of red is redder than a bucketful.

Everything that you can see in the world around you presents itself to your eyes

only as an arrangement of patches of different colors.

And you as you wander about this wondrous earth,

Gather your own rainbow, and share the colors with love.

Their glory won’t fade, the palette of pure magic will endure.

And as sure as I say it, you will be the child I’m most proud of.