Renaissance

renaissance, noun: a period of cultural rebirth

the arts are cut from school curriculums nationwide,
so we scrounge for our own materials,
listen to pennies clink at the bottom of a jar,
wait another week, month, year for new materials
we make art on cheap tablets,
mastering the task of spinning garbage to gold
we draw on hands and arms and legs
it washes off in the shower

we film movies on camera phones
steady hands aren't quite steady enough
but we have our voices,
weak yet stable;
we make it work

a mantra paints our collective minds:
make good art

after years of degrading,
devaluing the new generation,
the oxymoronic internet-age philosophy becomes a reality

renaissance, noun: a renewal of life