Render Me Sweet
I ask the canvas to render me sweet,
His countenance far easier to sway
Than the brush, whose full head you beat
Against the canvas, whose blood sprays
In bright hues—enough to capture the color
Of thought. I ask the brush to forgive your violent
Art, that necessary craft, and he endures.
He translates your whim to canvas from his bristled end,
To the canvas that does all a canvas can
To render me sweet, loyal as a canvas may be.
He stays stock-still under your steady hand
While I, the subject, stir, restless in my seat.
I envy the wet brush that tastes your fingers’ tips.
I long to be the canvas, for you to paint me with your lips.
Nathan S Thomas is a writer and poet based in Columbus, Ohio. He is currently studying English Rhetoric & Professional Writing and Creative Writing at the University of Cincinnati and is a poetry editor for the university’s undergraduate literary journal, Short Vine. His work often concerns aesthetics, aware of the way prose looks on the page, the way it feels in the mouth, in the body, out loud. He works in and out of forms but prefers to keep things loose.