I can draw exit signs in the dark

I can draw exits signs

In the dark.

I can’t draw them while I’m in the dark, what I mean to say is that

I can draw exit signs that are in the dark.

I’m also pretty good at drawing the dark.

But nobody gets it when I draw exit signs in the dark,

They just laugh at my art and say

“Those are just red block letters

Against a black background.”

My 4th grade art teacher asked if

Maybe I’d like to draw my exit sign

Not in the dark.

Hey lady, I’m trying to make something timeless.

Don’t you get it?

I can’t draw exit signs not in the dark because

I can’t really draw anything not in the dark

And nobody wants to look at or think about some 4th grader’s

Ugly exit sign not in the dark

Because when was the last time anybody gave a crap

About an exit sign not in the dark?

Why do you need the sign if its not in the dark?

Just look for the exit.

And besides its not about the exit or really even the dark

It’s about only seeing that.

So if I draw something else, it’s not about only seeing that, is it?

That winter, my mom drove me into the city

With all the brown building and the shiny stuff covered in grime

And took me to the back door at city hall,

Yelled at me to “go now or hold it” and then started

Helping me get into a ridiculous Victorian era costume

So I could go in front of 1,900 people

And do what I practiced doing earlier that year

And perform.

I had to show people my art.

As I walked out and turned towards those 1,900 people,

It felt better to know that I had expertly painted

Big bold strokes of dark on top of 1,900 faces.

Seeing as how it came out so well,

I kept drawing the dark over everything else I could think of.

The only thing I left were some red block letters

Showing me the way out if I needed it, which I didn’t.

I felt great in the dark with my exit sign,

And I can draw an exit sign in the dark for you

But you probably won’t get it unless you’ve been

Drawn to that exit into darkness.