One of my dearest friends, Bobbi Jo Brooks made a painting for me last year entitled Beauty From Ashes. We spoke a lot about the themes of the painting and I fell in love with the painting and everything it represents. When she presented it to me, we talked about me one day writing a poem to accompany it. A year later, I finally managed to capture some of Bobbi Jo’s ideas in words. The fruit of that is displayed below.
For more of Bobbi Jo’s work, go to her website bobbijobrooks.com
Beauty from Ashesby Rebekah Eckard
If you stand far enough away,
you’ll only notice the gold and white running down my body.
I shimmer in the sunlight and dance in the shadows.
You call me beautiful. Lovely.
As Pretty as a Painting.
I am a work of art,
not meant to be admired but experienced.
Come closer and touch me.
See for yourself what I truly am.
Run your fingers along my skin,
and find that I am not just a shell.
There is more to my story than what your eyes can see.
I am not a blank canvas.
Underneath my beauty there is a past.
There is always a past.
It’s only when you get close enough
that you begin to see the bumps and bruises-
the accumulation of ash that lies beneath
Years and years of failed perfection
Heaped upon the burning fragments
Of unmet expectations, hopes dashed from the rooftops,
falling short in all the ways I wanted to succeed.
Yet the artist took me as I was.
My bumps and bruises not a hindrance
But a foundation to be built upon.
Color and paint poured over and over
Soothing my enflamed wounds.
Making wonder from the darkest parts of me.
I can feel these new elements forever changing who I am.
Not hiding, but transforming.
Ash glittering into gold.
Ridged landscapes smoothing into porcelain.
So you see beauty where once was brokenness.
Yes, I am more than a pretty picture.
I am a living, breathing story
Echoing throughout time.
Ashes to Beauty.
Death to Life.
Come closer and see for yourself.
Come closer, and see yourself.
rebekah.eckard 