Turpentine

I thought the picture came out great

But when I went to look at it again I noticed the colors had started to smear

Right in the center

Right at the top

As if something had dripped on it

The colors had begun to run a race

But I never heard the starter pistol

Was it just a timed trial

And it was speeding towards the end from the beginning

I stepped away and when I came back again more of it seemed to have stripped away

The colors were disappearing revealing the canvas underneath

I frantically searched for my palette and tried to recreate the picture that was there but it was empty

I looked for more paint but couldn’t find the precise colors I used before

I couldn’t even mix them to get the same tones I had before

No matter what I tried I couldn’t get it back

All I could do was watch the turpentine continue to strip it away