to fran

Smear the paint across the canvas,
sell your work, the money's good.
Let them take you out to dinner,
ignore the talk, enjoy the food.

What's the difference in the end?
The best you ever had to spend
wasn't cash, but time alone,
or with your family, in your own home.

Teach the young ones what's the story,
let them learn, not just surmise,
from someone maybe without glory,
but wiser than their starry eyes.