The Power of Art

Art in its finest form
Feels like a great rebellion
It feels like seizing freedom
From the grip of despotic forces
That tell us we can’t

Art stands up to those bullies
And yells in their face
Yes, I can!
And clobbers them over the head
Again and again
Until the bullies don’t want to fight anymore
And everyone knows why

That is the power of art

Art is freedom won the hard way
Freedom that can only be taken
Never given
The kind of freedom that is truly savored
And appreciated
To the absolute maximum
The kind of freedom
That knows what it’s like
To be unfree
And to have made a daring and glorious escape
Into the unknown

The kind of freedom that breaks chains
And lives dreams
And makes it farther than anyone ever imagined
Real art is that kind of freedom

It’s something that must be experienced
By the artist
And can be described but never completely shared
Like explaining to someone the taste of pie
Bet never being able to actually give them a slice
This is why people love artists
They have tasted the sweetest pie
That everyone wants to taste
If only they could free themselves to do so

But getting free is the hard part
And that’s where most people fail
But the artist dedicated his whole life
To getting free
At great risk and peril
In the face of death and destruction
And stared into the abyss
Because that is the only way to do it
If you didn’t commit everything you have to it
Then it isn’t really art

Art isn’t a game
It’s a lifestyle
That demands everything you have
This is where most people fail
They want to be artists
But don’t want to make the sacrifice
So they procrastinate
And make excuses
And say they didn’t have enough time
Or enough talent
When really
The ones who made it
Just wanted it more
They risked their lives to be free
When others weren’t willing to
And that’s why they get to live free
When others don’t

Art is a rebellion
A seizure of freedom
From a despotic world