“Just please be quiet,” my mom says as she hands my brother and me pens. We pull out the handouts from our Sunday school class and unfold them and look for the blank spaces to draw. With those pens, we begin to draw. For some reason, we are drawn into world-building. We build a world for diggers and cave divers. Carefully they dig further and further into the tough clay earth. But from the flow of our pens, the earth is soft as dust, and the diggers work eagerly towards treasure softly buried hidden in deep caverns. They will always find their treasure; there is no doubt about it.
As we grow older, my brother continues to world build, where we both started with pens and crayons in Sunday school. Quickly he moves towards pencils, markers, graphite, acrylic, clay, wax, and watercolor, mixed mediums to find the results he needs—finally, oil on canvas—large, dark, intense, and incredibly beautiful. I stare at those beautiful paintings and sometimes wonder how it is that he is still down there. Digging for the treasure he will find—of that, there is no doubt. While he conjures with paint, I sit here and conjure with words.
Mar de Meditaciones 
And…what is so amazing and wonderful about you BOTH? Is that you have found a way for you to take all of those worlds you build inside, all of what you perceive and know about this world we inhabit, and you find a way to express it to the rest of us. Thank you.
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Thank you for your comment. This post stems from a poem I wrote a while back I might have to dust it off and post it here soon.
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That artwork is beautiful. But it is like you said you’re conjuring your world with words. Both of you have a unique talent. Thank you for sharing your talents with us. They are truly appreciated.
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Thank you for your comment.
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Dear Jonathan,
How beautiful and prolific are – each – of your canvases. For many years, I have likened words to paint, because I believe they are equally capable of constructing images in our minds that are filled with the colors of humanity in hues that bring memories and visions to life.
You demonstrate that in the masterful depiction of the humble beginnings of your journey, housed in the white spaces of Sunday School papers. You capture your joint luminescence as you relay the constructs of your world-building: digging, delving, exploring, insistent upon unearthing treasures unknown.
Your talent is a treasure indeed. Not only do you deftly use language to esteem the pulchritude of your brother’s work, but you humbly showcase the rich texture and and illustrious tenor of your own. I am enamored with the picturesque masterpieces that both of you have created. What an amazing mother to have gifted her sons with the tools for such captivating crafts.
They are ethereal, so my admonition to you both – keep coloring the world around us, with his paint and your words. The two of you are amazing artists…
With Warmest Regards,
~Carla Michelle
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Thank you so much for such a thoughtful and wonderful response!! I’m glad to have found this community to share my words with.
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It is truly my pleasure. #keepwriting! ~Carla Michelle
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“While he conjures with paint, I sit here and conjure with words.”
What a beautiful line, Jonathan. I bet your mom is incredibly proud of the worlds you each build exceedingly well. Thank you for sharing his work, as well as your writing!
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Thank you so much! It actually took a while for my mom to come around to our “art” but yes very proud of both of us!! Mexican moms are something else but they are also the best moms in the world!
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