I Am An Artist
By Ronni Cranston
My nature is to see the world, not only for what it is
But for what it can be
My nature is to find beauty
Where others cannot
To tiptoe over the lopsided pavement like a gymnast on a beam
Hopscotch over used needles and extinguished joints
Cartwheel through the dumpster fire we call life
And stop every couple minutes to appreciate the way the embers glow
Floating up to chart constellations made invisible by smog
My nature is to imagine
To believe that if I want something
I can make it happen
To know that I can wish upon those embers like they’re really stars
And armed with flint and steel
I will face the night with them
And help them make my dreams come true
My nature is to feel rather than think
I feel like that’s worked well for me, and I think that I’m right to feel that way
Because thinking is an easy thing to overdo
So I’ve learned to trust my instincts
Because I know, as clumsy as I am, I’m going to fall
But I also know how to catch myself
And even if I fail to, I can pull myself to my feet like I have every other time
Why would I ever need to look before I leap?
I am not in the business of hesitation
But for what it can be
My nature is to find beauty
Where others cannot
To tiptoe over the lopsided pavement like a gymnast on a beam
Hopscotch over used needles and extinguished joints
Cartwheel through the dumpster fire we call life
And stop every couple minutes to appreciate the way the embers glow
Floating up to chart constellations made invisible by smog
My nature is to imagine
To believe that if I want something
I can make it happen
To know that I can wish upon those embers like they’re really stars
And armed with flint and steel
I will face the night with them
And help them make my dreams come true
My nature is to feel rather than think
I feel like that’s worked well for me, and I think that I’m right to feel that way
Because thinking is an easy thing to overdo
So I’ve learned to trust my instincts
Because I know, as clumsy as I am, I’m going to fall
But I also know how to catch myself
And even if I fail to, I can pull myself to my feet like I have every other time
Why would I ever need to look before I leap?
I am not in the business of hesitation
Ronni Cranston is a student at PCC. She has been writing as a hobby since she was young enough to pick up a pen. Some of her bestsellers from her earlier years include the short stories “The Time I Met Mickey Mouse” and “Rattlesnake, Raccoon, Shark, and Me,” the latter of which she also illustrated. Nowadays, she’s more focused on visual artwork, but she still enjoys writing poetry and short stories in her free time. She primarily uses her writing to work out a lot of existentialism that she can’t adequately squeeze into a ninety-six-word biography.