marshmallows
All work and no play, I thought I heard them say. I took it as advice rather than as admonishment. An ant among grasshoppers. Delaying anything that might be gratifying. I've spent most of my life preparing. Planning for when I might actually start living it one day.
'You can have this one marshmallow now, or you can have two, if you wait' - is what I thought I head them say. That was all it took to keep me locked in place. Decades spent staring at one marshmallow on one plate. Waiting for it to double. Doing whatever it took to make sure all my dues got paid.
Be the first one in and the last one to leave. Give 110%, I thought I heard them say. Crawl in sick. Be indispensable. Pinch pennies so hard, stones bleed. Self-flagellation in service of future me. It'll all be worth it someday.
But lives and marshmallows have "USE BY" dates. And, if you've been given the gift of one, the most gracious thing you can do is give it a taste…
P.S. ICAD Day 361-363 - all collages featured are available for purchase here.
P.S. - the lovely folks at Contemporary Collage Magazine were kind enough to send me a few more promo shots of my feature in the upcoming issue. You can preorder it here. It’s a gorgeous publication, run by wonderful people, I highly recommend it, obviously, haha.
Hi Duane - beautiful collage work, I was searching for art like yours on here, because I wasn't sure if there are many people doing visual art / mixed media stuff on this platform. I'm part of a trio doing similar work, with music and writing each week. Curious what you might think of the collages !
best
Reading your words and collage today — deeply meaningful — thank you.