Paying my (artist) dues

It is hard to imagine

That the price is so high

Many will not even try to

Take their chance

Regrets of forsaken lovers

That never knew their time

Loss attempts to kill

Dreams did not arrive

Do I dare?

Pay the price

Bleed until dry

There is no other life

The pain provides

Another chapter is written

Discoveries are made

As flowers blossom

-Camille Delaquise

This poem appears in RISE, Camille’s second contemporary poetry collection. Paying my (artist) dues meditates on the cost of creative vocation — acknowledging the sacrifice, uncertainty and ache that accompany an artistic life, while insisting that from such endurance something vital, beautiful and deeply lived can still emerge.

This poem is available as a contemporary poetry print on textured recycled card.