An Artist's Lot

Nothing is ever mine.

It's always their car,

their road,

their house,

their factory,

their government,

their job,

their place in the world,

their dreams,

their future,

their time,

their decision,

their trees,

their pollution,

their war,

their story,

their gift,

their way,

their insolence,

their privilege,

their crime of the century,

their enforcement,

their medals,

their prostitutes,

their there,

their world.

Whatever I try to grasp

slips through my fingers

unpossessed.

The artist's gift.