Blurred Focus

By Nicole Cervonaro

You painted me into your background

Can’t remember when

Muted tones, diluted,

Dimmed, hushed.

First draft 

I was your foreground

Your focus,

Each brushstroke, tenuous at first,

Then fervently create the form.

Vibrant, vivid, no question 

Where your vectors led.

Draft two

Your focus shifted,

My form became more

Amorphous,

Moved to the midground.

Your brushstrokes became more 

Careless, where tender detail had been,

Great washes now covered them.

Once your palette was nuanced,

You mixed your colours with 

Sensitivity and gentleness

They spoke a language we

Both could share.

Now,

I cannot understand

What you say.

You’ve painted me into a 

Pallid, lonely background-

By Nicole Cervonaro