What Loss Sculpts From Us

365 Writing Challenge, Day 20

No one leaves life without standing on Loss’ pedestal. And, everyone leaves its studio changed.

Loss carefully chooses the right tool to carve the subject.

Death, its most blunt gouge and mallet, quickly rips large chunks of wholeness.

To smooth the rough edges along death’s craters, Loss turns to a chisel it can repeatedly wield — abandonment, perhaps, or failure. Over time, Loss drags those sharp objects over the soft material with shallow strokes, carving pieces in long, cascading ribbons that drip onto the studio’s floor.

Each strike and rip and cut reveals the form hiding inside.

Once Loss completes the heavy destruction and carving, it uses rasps and rifflers to bring the piece to life. Disappointments and frustrations expose details and personality. With fine strokes of each, Loss etches humanity, empathy, and courage into a person.

Finally, Loss polishes its work — sanding and abrading with unfortunate happenstance.

No one leaves life without standing on Loss’ pedestal. And, everyone leaves its studio changed.

Inspiration: “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” — Michelangelo

This post is part of my 365 Fiction Writing Challenge. Read my self imposed rules and other posts here.

Yesterday’s post: Blooming Under Moonlit Skies

Tomorrow’s post: Max’s Daring Escape