Becoming Invisible

‘Door in San Miguel’
14"Hx11"W

© Beverly Ash Gilbert

She’s kicking her way
to the back of the paper
no longer seen
or acknowledged

Then wraps herself in color
so she doesn’t disappear

But who’s she trying to attract anyway
a random shop keeper
or a stranger walking by?
Why does it matter
that she’s no longer visible to them?

Truth is…
they're invisible to her too

So she wraps up in another layer of color
a mask like others wear foundation and Botox
Trying to smooth her wrinkles, fat belly
and thinning hair
So desperate to hide
behind memories of youth

Yet the beauty in these walls of San Miguel de Allende
are the ones she can’t get enough of
The ones that fill her artist’s soul
The ones with pealing paint
stained with water and age
The ones worn so thin
that the essence of what’s underneath
shines through

A wise one told her
‘You have a Beautiful Essence’

So it doesn’t really matter
that she’s invisible to others

She chooses to believe him
and wraps herself in color
for herself

‘Door in San Miguel’
14"Hx11"W

Art and Words by Beverly Ash Gilbert

Note: This is an excerpt from my journal during a writing trip to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico under the wonderful guidance of Laurie Marks Wagner and Andrea Scher in 2018. Laurie gave us the prompt: ‘She’s kicking her way to the back of the paper’ and the rest fell out of my head onto paper. If you ever get a chance to go to San Miguel with these two women - jump on it!

Oh, and I stayed on after the retreat and tried to capture the magic of the colors and doorways of this beautiful city in this painting that I had to carry onto the plane!