Brushstrokes of the Heart

 

 

Brushstrokes of the Heart

•

we were beautiful
as a painted egg

smooth couple
balanced relationship
bright and colorful
lovely to behold

at arm’s length

but we grew hollow
superficial
fragile
brittle

too easily crushed

and once so
forever broken

no over-lacquer
of sustained love
to add substance

no second coating
of genuine honesty
to insure strength

we lost
the tender brushstrokes
of the heart

• • •

rob kistner © 2010

…come see egg-zactly what’s breakin’ at Magpie Tales

13 thoughts on “Brushstrokes of the Heart”

  1. Ah those tender brushstrokes of the heart. I use a roller myself.
    As usual, a delightful piece Rob with an intriguing extended metaphor.

  2. never truer words penned. Love is a delicate egg. Without honesty…there is nothing. In our society, the happy couple, all shiny and perfect, is often a ruse.

    I absolutely loved this; I have lived this. Very moving, very touching.

    Lisa

  3. Lovely. I like how you sustain the trope.

    And my you are prolific this last week. I’ve just completed a poem for our Tuesday Blog Carnival; the prompt is gentleness.
    Perhaps you’ll join us?

  4. I like the idea of remembering the brushstrokes of the beginning of a relationship. What was there before the painting was complete? What made us want to finish the painting? Let’s go back to that time…

  5. Nice take on the prompt. I love how you use very few words to describe in detail what you are thinking. It doesn’t take many, does it, to tell the story. “Easily crushed, forever broken”. Nice!

  6. How can “the tender brushstrokes” become undone? The heart must have imprinted on some cell somewhere the tenderness now missing. Give a little tenderness is a command in the now. Certainly these strokes need not be hardhearted, although not the same as before, perhaps. Depends on what you want the heart to be; we can imagine the best and try for it. If we don’t hit the benchmark maybe we are too much of a perfectionist which could be truly disheartening. Lovingly romantic and thought-provoking talent poem, Rob!

  7. I really like the sentiment behind this line, “no second coating of genuine honesty to insure strength.” To sustain love you’ve got to have a generous dose of the second coating.

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