The Wrong Question

My daughter dabbed and swiped, occasionally 

changing brushes. The arc of her hand 

seemed effortless but deliberate. I watched 

as the painting took on form and colour but I 

could not yet discern a meaning.

I left and returned some time later to find a 

spectacle that engrossed me. My eyes roamed 

the canvas looking for the focal point. I knew 

it was telling me something but I did not know 

what it was. “What is it meant to be”, I asked.

“Oh Dad, you are asking the wrong question”, my daughter replied. 

“What do you want it to be?”

MDC December 2020

Give and Take

We were both takers.

Fearful that we would not survive 

with what little we had.

Fearful that what little we 

could take from the other

would not be enough.

When we took from each 

other we knew what was taken 

was released grudgingly, unwillingly,

not laid down to the other.

So there was never any gratitude 

for what was taken, nor gratitude

to be able to give to help 

the other survive.

Giving and taking was never

going to be the answer for us.

It’s not the answer for anybody.

What we needed was giving and receiving.

Giving and receiving would have

allowed both of us to survive,

or one of us at least.

But now there is no us, for neither 

of us have survived.

MDC 6/11/2020