Self-Portrait

By Tara Carpenter

Stroke by stroke we paint our lives,

day after day.

We form the painting with our actions

and shade it with our doubts.

We color it with kindness,

and tone it with our personalities.

We smudge it with our sins

and brighten it with our good works.

With loving hands we brush and shape our picture.

The empty canvas is our potential.

The right is ours to fill it.

Each portrait will be different,

but none are ever ugly.

And when the portrait is done

and the artist has moved on,

the portrait will remain

for others to pattern their own by.