If I Were An Artist

If I had the skill
I would sooner sketch a tree
than photograph it.

My drawing would hang in a gallery
and would be
such a work of art
that some would be able to see
a depth of meaning
in its elaborate tangle
of delicate branches.

Perhaps they’d perceive it
as a visual metaphor
and it would enhance their lives
in some way.

Who can guess what it might convey.

Others,
of course,
would pass by it once,
perhaps not even noticing it
or merely giving it a glance.

Something more colourful,
more exciting,
more famous,
would soon catch their eye
and they’d move on.

And probably no one
would seek to explain
the presence of the plane.


If I Were A Carpenter