the thieves of life

we writers,
painters,
musicians---
artists of any kind---
are
the thieves of life.

it is not that we steal life from others---
but instead,
we capture anything &
everything
from the world around us,
&
translate, transcribe, appropriate &
reinterpret---
making something new.

we produce work when confronted with
any foul excrement that life may bring,
when others may just wallow in it---
& we survive through our work,
taking every experience of our own
&
every moment we witness in the world---
documenting these things
as the true
historians of our species.

and while some get beat,
jailed,
sued,
censored,
& more often than anything---
simply ignored or
disregarded---
some of us
get away with it all.

we have committed the perfect crime,
you and i.