I’ve been thinking about these two elders for a while now,
two figures who I consider mentors
neither of whom ever volunteering for the role
but both having provided me inadvertent insight
as to how to be an artist
through modeling
for decades now.

In my mind
I’ve tried to pit them against each other
but I haven’t been able to find their poles of opposition:
The head and the heart?
Down home storytelling vs. literary pretensions?
Shirts vs. skins?
None of them quite fit the dynamic.
It wasn’t like the pair were ever really fighting for my soul.

I’m no closer to finding answers on how to write
about such instrumental figures.
Perhaps there’s no right way.
Perhaps every way is wrong.

As I live and grow
my dynamic with these people ever changes
so my thoughts differ year on year.
Maybe next year
I’ll find a definitive answer.
Maybe tomorrow.