The following poem I wrote is dedicated to an awe-inspiring woman who has taught me that every day is a day worth watching. The day can bring new discoveries that can only be seen through patience and an inquisitive mind. This exceptional, beautiful woman happens to be my grandmother, Luz. Her heart of gold and selflessness inspired me to explore the ideas in my mind and allow them to flourish onto any canvas I came across.

Today I learned how to paint

With just four colors and my mind

Blue, brown, green, and white acrylic paint

With imagination as my paintbrush

I kept my eyes closed as Abuelita painted

With only memory to guide me,

I described each color as a scent;

Each scent connected to my own perception of the world

The color blue

Aging mold thriving on wet, rotting plywood harbors

Mingles into the ocean's stagnant, salty waters

A surprisingly humble abode to the fresh algae and creatures of the sea

The color brown

The fetid odor of decaying worms and manure

Embedded to give fertility to the earthy soil

A home for the living and the deceased

The color green

A release of petrichor during last night's heavy rainfall

A sweet scent of syrup produced by crisp cut grass

This morning's first and final breath

The color white

Lillies, daisies, and baby's breath in full bloom

Their aromas wafting through the sunny cotton fields

The comforting memory of a loved one gone too soon

I opened my eyes

And it was not the world I described

The painting revealed a different setting;

We both saw the world in Abuelita's mind

The colors blue, brown, green, and white

Depicts a mother giving birth to her child

The child glowed at the center as she felt the universe surround her;

"You are my world," Abuelita announced to me

Today I learned how to paint

With just four colors and my mind

Today we were going to paint the world

And painted it we did