For today’s prompt, write a self-portrait poem. Pretty straightforward, right? That doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of room for creativity. Just look at artists and their self-portraits; there’s a lot of differences in the self-portraits of Kahlo, Schiele, Dali, Van Gogh, and others–and not just because the artists look different themselves.

SELF-PORTRAIT~A Masterpiece of individuality.

By John Yeo

~~~~

My ever-changing, developing, subtle self,

How do I begin to present you my very familiar friend?

You seem to change from day to day

With every act of improvisation.

I would not recognise my self of many years ago

Some things they say,  improve with age.

~~~~

Would I choose the medium to match the man?

Oil paint for a perfect finish, I am an unfinished product.

Water colours would be merging and blurring reality,

Perhaps I could use marble, a self-portrait as a bust,

Reflecting a very hard unchanging exterior.

The man I see in the mirror will one day be dust.

~~~~

The modern day self-portrait is a “selfie”

A photograph snapped when alone.

A very unrealistic image they say,

It is certainly myself, taken by myself

A genuine photographic self-portrait

Without bias and make believe.

~~~

A self portrait by the artist of words

Is an impossible task to achieve.

How do you construct a self portrait?

The temptation would always be

To compose a flattering CV.

To describe and present a self-portrait

Of how one would like one to be.

~~~

Copyright © Written by John Yeo

All rights reserved