With Arthritis Hands

With arthritis hands like balls of knotted wool Maud Lewis painted just what she liked. With paint squeezed straight from the tube On boards of wood, she would cut herself Her miniature artworks are a means of self-expression. Of her Ohio, Nova Scotia life out in the wilderness She loved the railroad outside the family home. The Baptist church appeared against the clouds. Her blue shadows, images painted in the snow, Show a willingness to live and survive. No, you can't give up out here! You got to smile and look up. Nothings impossible If you learn that subsistence is a painter's gift. Maud loved the hustle and bustle of the locomotive. The people thereabouts where she would sell fish And she would sell painted Christmas cards Life was tough, but painting was a means to uplift. Others and, more importantly, herself, soul and body.