Material For Your Art

by Gottlieb Teufel

 

Sink your teeth into my heart:
It is material for your Art.
All my pain and grief and pallor
Pen and brush shall line and color.
Into tatters am I torn?
Scratch them down as line and form,
As you ink each welt and sear
Into shade and cross-hatch, dear.
One who is an artist truly
Must portray one's subjects coolly;
If they bleed, well, what of it?
Ruby reds are exquisite
And tears as blue as amethyst --
So give the knife an extra twist.
For the amusement of your friends,
Trace my care that wounds and rends
Into pencilled line. Your name
May gather critical acclaim.