Work Of Art Poem by Harold Putnam

Life is like a work of art
That glows with promise at the start.
The canvas seems so cold and bare
But capable of colors rare.

The work requires an artist's touch.
The stroke of genius can add much,
The kiss of an inspired brush.
Converts the bare to an awed hush.

Life is like a block of marble
Quarried from the loins of earth,
Solid, gleaming, pearl of stones
Yet nothing till the sculptor hones.

We make of life a work of art
If we progress from careful start,
But only if the bare and tragic
Are transformed by touch of magic.