A Poem for Natasha

U.S. (and Mississippi) Poet Laureate
Natasha Trethewey, preparing to read

The picture I took of you
Looks like a watercolor
There was no setting for that
It just happened
As if it couldn't be helped
As if that effect was more honest
As if you drew your audience in,
Literally -
Made us all some sort of art
Now one unified rendering
Brush-stroked together
As you spoke those naked words of yours
And we listened to them like voyeurs
And everything got softer, unfocused
Struggles made beautiful by art
Which then created more art
Even an accidental watercolor
I am not a painter
And I am not a poet
And yet here I am
Clumsily writing a poem
Because hearing you read your poetry
Was like watching someone dance
With a partner they have had for years
And that sort of thing makes you want to cry
And makes you want to dance
Even if you know you're not very good at it
In verse, I am nothing but left feet and missed marks
But for you I, I'm writing this poem
Because the way you swayed to your own words moved something in me
Because your honest and lyrical words of art drew out something new
Because I took a picture of you
And it looked like a watercolor.