When She Sat Alone, Abby Gilbert

When She Sat Alone

by Abby Gilbert

The artist is gone now The time is come The last page is written And the cover is shut

The artist with those words With the paintbrush and canvas Has packed up his heart And moved to new stanzas

So Mona Lisa now sits In her new-given frame That smile once bright Now fades from her face

New beauty and new scenes Are etched upon her heart New beauty, new scenes When seen close many are scars

“Stay gone!” She tells her artist “Good riddance” calls her pride “This newness wasn’t wanted Remove it before it dries!”

Alas, Lisa cannot change it No matter how hard she tries As she cries out and struggles It hardens before her eyes

“Why?” She now demands Why would this artist be commissioned? Who with any kindness Would give him this permission?

“Was it you?” her voice called As her face turned to the master Was it you who let him in And gave rein to this disaster?” “Yes, my darling girl” The Master then exclaimed “It was me who let him in. He is not the one to blame”

“You see, I saw some dark places In your firmly set heart I saw some hard places That needed taking apart.

He was the artist, The man that I used To alter your heart To leave me more room

The choice is now yours Tell me what will you do? Will you stay hardened and hurt? Or, gently releasing, renew?” So here Lisa sat Stunned and ashamed That her heart was so hard And her artist unjustly blamed “O Master, please renew, Take your paintbrush and my heart Build on this new foundation Make me a new work of art”

And so He began The Master with paint Strokes of new redemption Made beauty from the pain

So here Lisa sits A slow process now started As her heart’s being healed Now open, less guarded

The artist’s gone now None know where he’ll go Who his new muse will be She shall never know

But she can’t help but thank That past artist of hers The man with his paintbrush And talent with words

The words that gave dreams Then the pangs and the sting Words that in the end, Drew her to her King