Willingly I cut myself open and lay myself bare,
to bleed upon my canvas.
Holding nothing back
I stand before all naked
and freed from the captivity of the restraints of society.
As the blood flows creating the ink to dip my pen.
The art is in my blood.
I can not hide my true self
I can not hide who I am.
To deny the very essence of my being would be
to take the life from my body.
I am an artist and I bleed for my art.

By Monteque Pope-Le Beau