Art is what stares back at you that night when your sixth-grade boyfriend dumped you and you found yourself in your bed with a notebook, a pen and a flashlight and ranted about what a sonofabitch he was. Art called itself poetry that night. Art is the salt in the tears. Art is magic. Art is that little knot that begins to form right under your breastbone when you realize that not everything has a happy ending. Art begins to hurt a little. Art is emotional baggage. Art is what suggests that maybe the paint would look better on the paper than it would taste in kindergarten. Art is what gets hung on the fridge. Art wonders where you've been and welcomes you home. Art sneaks up on you. Art wears many masks. Art was when the other day I found a paperclip stuck in the wall. Art is beauty. Art is smooth. Art is sexy. Art is rough. Art is bloody. Art is aroused. Art is ready. Art is sheer hypocrisy. Art is embracing that hypocrisy. Art is a picture of a man in drag. Art is two women kissing. Art wants. Art takes. Art gives. Art gets. Art is greedy. Art is now. Art is shades and colors and highlights. Art is the high note hit full on. Art is what makes the audience cry. Art is smooth lines and jazz and fishnets. Art is finding a different shade of lipstick on his collar. Art is a mother skipping lunch so she can buy diapers. Art built the cross. Art drove the nails into Christ's palms. Art leaves little red half-moons the next morning where his fingernails were. Art was a thirty foot metal spider that I saw in a museum in Paris. Art is what allows a girl to stand on the tips of her toes and appear weightless. Art is starlit nights and foggy mornings. Art is flashing neon lights and a prostitute dropping her shoulder strap. Art is hands stained with ink. Art is hands turned black from led. Art is love. Art is hate. Art is rage. Art is ranting. Art is breaking. Art is healing. Art is forgiveness. Art is bleeding. Art is dying. Art is your soul on a silver platter, seasoned. Art is the move that makes checkmate. Art is when birdsong wakes you up in the morning. Art is a red rose left on a snow-covered grave. Art shivers. Art sings. Art cries. Art kisses. Art loves. Art philosophizes. Art hates. Art discriminates. Art asks, "Who are you?" and "Are you sure?" Art asks, "Why?" Art does not take "Why not?" as an answer. Art says "Yes." Art says "No." Art lies. Art never says please or thank you. Art is not polite. Art steps on your toes and elbows you in the ribs. Art never says excuse me. Art forces you to confront evil. Art is evil. Art makes you uncomfortable. Art makes you fidget in your chair. Art points fingers. Art accuses. Art slams you against the wall and yells in your face. Art has bad breath. Art blushes when you kiss her hand. Art is a man. Art is a woman. Art is a monster. Art is the blood on her lips. Art makes you moan. Art is a 3rd grader wearing red socks, plastic high heels and a tutu. Art is daydreams. Art is nightmares. Art burns. Art is a four-letter word. Art is humanity. Art is infinity. Art is searching. Art yearns. Art is desire. Art makes your computer crash. Art packs a good punch. Art pats you on the back. Art tickles. Art dances. Art is scary. Art makes you scream. Art is hearing music in the sunrise. Art is waiting in the wings. Art is time. Art is space. Art is lethal. Art is chaotic. Art is smart. Art is clever. Art is tricky. Art is a child blowing bubbles into the wind. Art is this. Art is that. Art is a doctor breaking open your ribs to try and get your heart beating again. Art is a blessing. Art is a burden. Art dominates. Art submits. Art cracks the whip. Art is what everyone wants to have a claim to. Art dives in, head first. Art licks. Art pulses. Art breathes. Art laughs at you. Art makes faces behind your back. Art is shadows. Art is dust. Art holds a gun to your head. Art prays. Art never forgets. Art dreams. Art fights. Art is conflict. Art cries herself to sleep at night. Art rocks the cradle. Art is sharp. Art is not sugar-coated. Art is spicy. Art is the hips of a belly dancer. Art crackles. Art sizzles. Art pops. Art is two lovers lying on a bed without sheets. Art is finding a bird on the ground with a broken neck from flying into a glass window. Art does not apologize. Art blows in the wind. Art is forgetting to breathe. Art is syncopated. Art is never afraid. Art is terrified. Art defies. Art rummages through your grandmother's trunk in the attic. Art discovers. Art is kinky. Art is anorexic. Art sparks. Art riots. Art incites revolution. Art begs. Art is a butterfly smashed onto a windshield. Art spontaneously combusts. Art is a spotlight on an empty stage. Art is catching a lingering whiff of her perfume. Art is blind, deaf, and dumb. Art is high. Art is sharing a cigarette on a cold night. Art is reality. Art challenges you to a duel and is the first to draw. Art is scandalous. Art slaps you in the face for no reason. Art helps you glimpse God. Art makes you break down into tears. Art is wild. Art gives great hugs. Art is a marriage of heaven and hell. Art is suicidal. Art grinds its teeth. Art digs its heels in and refuses to give up. Art knows all secrets. Art is a wish made on a shooting star. Art screws up. Art wants to know what its like. Art is the glimmer in a newborn's eyes. Art is incredulous. Art is heavy. Art is deep. Art is more. Art wants more. Art sews up the tear. Art does not want to hear it. Art grumbles. Art smiles. Art breaks your heart. Art keeps your heart from actually tearing into two separate pieces. Art is a guitar riff being pumped through an amp. Art is the day you bury your mother. Art is gravity. Art is a sleeping giant. Art is a stampede. Art is a crack in the dam. Art is weak. Art is painful. Art makes you hide your face in your hands. Art is pagan. Art sleeps in. Art sweats. Art slits your throat. Art happens. Art digs its claws into your back. Art is vibrant. Art is diseased. Art needs you to lean in and talk loudly. Art does not think before it speaks. Art is not prudent. Art explodes. Art bursts at the seams. Art addicts. Art begins. Art ends. Art is the storyteller. Art is the open palm of a beggar. Art is the thorns on the rose. Art is overwhelming.

Art is.