The Street Artist

I sit on the sidewalk of  a busy street
The tapping of shoes and the clicking of heels is endless
On the corner is a fiddler
Tapping his foot to the rhythm of his music
On the other is a singer
His voice fills the street
Behind me sits a table lined with paper and supply's
In front of me is a sign that reads portraits one dollar
By my side sits paint, paper and a half empty jar
With maybe two or three dollars in it
People would stop, read my sign, sneer and continue to walk
Perky tourists skip by but stop when they read my sign
They look at me with utmost pity and throw them my best smile
They digged through their pocket and drop a dollar in my lap
I set the two parents and two kids in a loveable position
I gently lick the tip of my of my brush and dip in into the paint
The colors mix and match and blend on the paper as my brush flows 
against the paper
The children start tapping their feet and they are unable to stand still
They start to whine and complain
I look up from work and smile at the children
To think these children so young, so naive and protected from the world 
of unhappiness and pain
To whine and complain about something so little, not knowing
Not knowing what it's like to have no place to call home
No happy family, waiting to greet you with hugs and hello's when you 
walk in the door
No place to curl up beside a warm fire with a book in the mid of winter
No place to call your own, no family, no warm fire, nothing
I continue to paint, mixing and matching and blending the colors on the paper
I put the final touches on the painting and nod at the family
They relax and walk up to me, grunting when they see the painting
Dropping me a five, they take the painting and leave
I stand up and watch them walk down the busy street
Going to back to their homes, their family, their war fires in the mid of winter
I don't need all that, as long as I have food and my paintings, I'll be happy
I don't need material possessions to be happy or have a home
The street is my home and all I need is my paints and I'll be 
Forever happy


Back