painting myself a donkey

How to Paint a Donkey
By Naomi Shihab Nye
She said the head was too large,
the hooves too small.
I could clean my paintbrush
but I couldn’t get rid of that voice.
While they watched,
I crumpled him,
let his blue body stain my hand,
I cried when he hit the can.
She smiled. I could try again.
Maybe this is what I unfold in the dark,
deciding for the rest of my life,
that donkey was just the right size.


My donkey is the right size... it's that fucking voice that is too big.

I'm working on getting it to use it's inside voice (for now), until I can figure out how to get it to stop altogether.