You know I spend most of my days on the rhythms of poetry and the imaginative world of children’s books. But even words need a rest sometimes. When I find my pen stuttering or my thoughts feeling a bit too tangled in syntax, I turn to painting and drawing.
I’m often asked what drives me to pick up the brush when my “job” is words. For me, painting is a silent conversation. It allows me to explore the same emotions I put into my stories, but without the pressure of finding the “right” word. It’s my way of breathing in color so I can eventually exhale more stories.
This intersection of color and word inspired me to write a new poem that I also shared on my poetry blog, Poetry Pop, specifically about the restless, beautiful nature of creative souls and the internal pull that leads us to create. Whether you use a brush, a pen, or just your imagination, this one is for you:
Creative Soul
Sometimes I wonder
why I’m driven to paint.
Why do I create?
Does the world need
another painting?
Is my stroke of blue
more Cerulean?
Is my Veridian
a deeper green?
Are my brush strokes
beyond measure?
If I died tomorrow
would the world miss
what my creative soul
conjures?
The answer is no.
Not even a little bit.
But I would miss
painting.
I’d feel the loss
of the blank page,
the finished work,
and the gentle swirls
in between.
And so, I paint.
Today,
tomorrow,
until my last breath.
I will create
with abandon,
not for any other reason
than painting
brings color
to my world
like a cardinal
that wings
a splash of crimson
across a pale winter sky.
©Danna Smith at Poeterypop.com January 31, 2026. All rights reserved.
