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DRAWING LESSONS
To the Student Complaining of an
Inability to Draw Straight Lines

Nature is built upon spirals and curves
Like a shell, or the swell of a wave;
By the action of growth, or erosion or change
Creation is shaped and engraved.

Consider the dunes that are formed by the wind,
Or the undulant line of the shore,
Both molded by natural forces that flow
Like the notes of a musical score.

And man is of nature as well, though his work
May appear to be level and plumb,
Consider the helix within your own cells
Or the swirls on the pad of your thumb.

Then hold your brush loosely, a tree in the wind
Your movement a wave on the sea
And concentrate, not on trying to draw,
But on feeling the curves that you see.