ARTSPEAK! Portraits poem "What If?"

Hello and Happy National Poetry Month! Here it is, day 3 of ARTSPEAK!: Portraits, my National Poetry Month poem-a- day project, during which I am looking, listening with my spirit ear, and asking these subject to share with me their secrets.

But first: be sure to check out the Doraine's line of our 2017 Progressive Poem over at Dori Reads!

Also: I posted today over at Smack Dab in the Middle about 4 writing craft books that changed my life. Check it out!

And here are the poems so far:

"The Lady Confesses"

"Mona Lisa in Love"

Today I've got a little boy for you -- "Portrait of Camille Roulin" by Vincent van Gogh. I was instantly drawn to the color in this one, and how Camille's gaze is lowered. He doesn't look quite comfortable, does he? When I asked him why, this is what he said:

What If?

- after "Portrait of Camille Roulin" by Vincent van Gogh

What if

the sky

really was

    yellow?

What if

I pressed

the red button

and it opened

a secret

    green

door?

What if

my hat

held a stormy

    blue

ocean?

What if

I wasn't shy

and could

instead

meet your

   rainbow

eyes?

-->

- Irene Latham

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Sometimes I think we misinterpret shy children as rude or unintelligent.

As a shy person, I can tell you that there is great comfort to be found in one's imagination, and this is often a trick we use to get through an uncomfortable situation -- just go someplace else inside our minds!
And it's not that we don't like you, it's just we often want to be invisible, and one way to shut out the world is to not make eye contact. It's not about you at all. Give us time to get comfortable, and we'll be more likely to engage.