About selling

They were never wrong;

The old cognoscenti in sports coats, 

Spinning stories, sensuously salacious, 

Selling art to suckers

Through their ears.

About people

They were never wrong;

The old guards

Shuffling past the Brueghel,

Listen for hours,

Pained by monologues 

Of what people do not say

As they cock their heads and slant

Their bodies to the art.

Listen, listen 

To the air conditioning in long-vacant silences

When people forget about art.

Listen, listen

As the docent speaks 

About the value of art.

The value of art 

Speaks

Many tongues.

The value of art is 

The hope we keep inside

Like a pilot light.

The value of art is 

Recognizing oneself

In the world.

The value of art is 

Drawing a box around 

What is worthy of civilization.

The value of art is 

Infused with the hallucinations

Of wealth.

The value of art is 

Discovering the beauty

Of other people’s minds.

The value of art is 

The hunt 

Of the deal.

The value of art is 

Spending time with your parents

In the glow of creativity.

The value of art is 

In the pause of wonder, when a house guest

Realizes what you have on your wall.

The value of art is 

Seeing The Joy of Life

Through your daughter's eyes.

The value of art is 

Realizing the sovereignty

Of your creative sense.

The value of art is 

Proximity to the godhead

That is beauty.

The value of art is 

Feeling the vitality and mystery

Of intentionality.