Elements

“Under the Veil of Mourning,” mixed-media by Deanna Clayton.

What lasts? Not our bodies,
that survive for decades in life but soon enough
go back to earth when breathing stops.

This remains: elements of human essence
captured on a face imbued with profound
acceptance, beyond joy and pain alike.

A veil shields, but reveals vulnerability,
the danger of exposure to the elements –
of the world and of the emotions.

Bodies decay, life persists. The work
outlives the artist. The elements of humanity
exist through all its generations.