in our time
we were art
bold brushstrokes
on pulled canvas
awaiting paint
and the artist’s practice
vermillion, scarlet, and blood-red hues
i was fire and flame
unset embers
to your ocean eye, seafoam
night sky blues
and as mixed as the palette did become
acrylic and oil
are not symbiotic mediums
brushes grew brittle
and water clouded grey
and the paintings of us began to fade
i like to think of us now
in monet
brighter colors and blurrier lines
a prettier picture from a step away
see our faults in van gogh
with little detail
and more swirls
if our flaws are picasso
it’s all straight cut
our pastels never mixed
and pigments never touched
we will always be
art of a time
on a dusty top shelf
that’s a favorite of mine
-ammarah siddiqui