Lost Pt.2, 2025
Acrylic on canvas 
14” x 18”


Anger hurls its heated remarks
While tears burn right through our hearts

Family is a sight lost too often 
Without them life becomes like a coffin 

It doesn't have to be this way I know 
If only we all choose to grow

Letting go of what's been said 
Lest we unravel like a thread

For when departing leaves one only unwound 
It’s family that will bring us home found

    Unlike the hollow fire pit I sat around, my heart burned in defense. Anger boiled behind my eyes as I dug my feet into the dirt attempting not to rise. Only the presence of my nieces and nephews kept me from erupting. How? How? How could family be so cruel to one another? How could one be so cruel to themselves?
    Just a few steps away, Mom and Aretta hurled insult after painful insult, using their words like sharpened blades, each cutting deeper than the last. Their voices echoed off the mountains, reverberating a fresh wound. This time I kept my thoughts to myself. After a few excruciating moments, Aretta gathered her kids and left, and vanished around the mountain bend. Hours later, as I stared into the setting sun, it was only one thought that consumed me: another sibling lost.
   The red dragon roars in the sky, streaks of blue and purple (sadness) coursing down its length, embodying the anger I felt that day. My sister loves horses - I drew one for her once - so the horse pulling the carriage symbolizes her. The closed carriage also represents the walls we construct, shutting out all feeling until we forget even ourselves, lost.

    Is it ever too late to turn around?


Return to Home Page