Mona the Artistic Witch

Blake Selsor

A long time ago, in the state of Arizona,
There lived a young witch whose name was Mona.
She lived in a small house with her father and mother,
as well as with two siblings, a sister and brother.

She was a kind and friendly, not one filled with hate,
And some say she was the happiest witch in the state.
For unlike other witches, who curse those of good heart,
Mona was a witch whose passion was simply to create art.

Whether it be sketches of desert plains,
Or sculptures as big as railway trains,
Mona was a talented artist, probably the best one on Earth.
Some say she could paint entire landscapes at birth.

But something that made Mona’s art very different from others
Was a special quirk that Mona inherited from her mother.
For every piece she made, whether large or small,
Had the ability to do something that surprised one and all.

When. some look at art, they can be heard saying,
“That painting is so life-like, it looks like it’s swaying.”
But, with Mona’s artwork, this wasn’t said in jest.
Her artwork sprung to life like a heart from a chest.
From her painting of the Arizona desert to her sketch of a French cook,
Mona’s artwork was like something from a fantasy book.
This talent of Mona’s made her art more fun.
It dazzled and shocked and amazed everyone!


Mona once sketched a flock of birds souring through the skies.
But when they flew from the page, the spectators couldn’t believe their eyes.
Her magical artwork sent everyone into a frenzy.
It even made the other artists green with envy.
Mona soon became the talk of the town.
How could such a young witch create art with no bounds?
From birds taking flight to fish leaping from streams,
Mona’s artwork became desired by people in teams.


Mona was shocked that people wanted her work.’
Could she really make money using this quirk?
She knew that the money could help build her supplies,
And making more artwork put stars in her eyes.


Mona began creating commissions, during each day and each season.
She would make anything anyone wanted, regardless of reason.
She would work on these pieces, even if it took her all day long.
She was just happy to make art. What could possibly go wrong?


She drew a happy monster for a little boy, and for another she drew a bear,
And she painted a wild west scenario for the History Museum down the square.
She made a series of surreal portraits for a surrealist loving group,
And she made a Jack-O’-Lantern that was made from a can of soup.

She made a sculpture of a giant chicken for a man by the name of Bruce,
And for the librarian in her hometown, she painted Mother Goose.
She created, for the church, a visual scroll that told the tale of Jonah.
She was even asked to make artwork for the Governor of Arizona.


With each creation Mona sketched, her artwork sprung to life,
Bringing joy and delight to all those who bought it, removing any strife.
Mona worked all day and night, sometimes on a single piece.
But after almost five months, her creative juices started to decrease.


She began having trouble making something new.
But she figured this was nothing, and something she could work through.
However, her captive audience started growing weary
And bored with Mona’s artwork that was no longer very cheery.

This crowd screamed and ranted and got frightfully mad.
They even called Mona’s artwork plain awful and just bad!
Some said, “unimaginative” and some said, “it’s in poor taste”,
And they left poor Mona behind, alone, bewildered, and disgraced.
Mona’s artwork was anything but, and it touched a lot of souls.
These were just the words and actions of a bunch of pretentious online trolls.
But their words hurt Mona, and broke her precious heart,
And that level of pain and creative struggle was soon reflected in her art.

A giant chicken would now look like a very depressed moose,
And some of her drawings looked like the sloppy seconds that came from Dr. Seuss.
From her work to the church to the governor of Arizona,
Everything seem to be falling apart for poor dear Mona.

She tried to move past it and continue to create,
But her mindset and creativity were in an awful state.
Her artwork wasn’t the same as it was when she first started,
And the comments from the online trolls made her even more brokenhearted.

She couldn’t move forward; she couldn’t even try.
And one day, in her room, she began to cry.
Surrounded by reminders of what she used to make,
Mona couldn’t help but be upset; she couldn’t help but break.

Her brother and her sister, while passing by her room,
Could hear her crying buckets of gloom and doom.
They rushed to get their parents, to tell them of Mona’s cries,
And in seconds, Mona’s parents were there to wipe her eyes.

They consoled Mona in her room and let her tears flow.
They waited for her to finish crying before listening to her tale of woe.
She told them about the exposure trolls and their comments of hate,
And she told them how the workload was affecting her passion to create.

As she was finishing her tale, she began to break down once more.
She actually cried so much that her eyes were getting sore.
Her parents still consoled her nonetheless, and as you probably guessed,
They made the suggestion to Mona, for her to take a rest.

She needed to get away from everything, that was all she had to do.
And after a little while, she would be feeling all brand new.
They suggested going on walks, watching movies, doing anything to reset her mind,
They would take some time off from work if that would help her feel more refined.

Mona pondered this idea in silence for about an hour, maybe two.
Could taking a break from making art really be the right thing to do?
If she wanted to continue making art, she had to get away.

So, she turned to her parents, and simply said “Okay.”
To refuel her creativity, Mona took a break from sketching.
And as she gained perspective, her ideas became quite fetching.
Today, Mona still creates art within her hometown.
But she also knows she needs to stop whenever she’s feeling down.

While trolls still bother her, she doesn’t really care.
Especially when some of her art wins first prize at the State Fair.
Yes, Mona learned a valuable lesson, that whenever she is stressed,
The best thing that she can do is simply get some rest.
Read a book, go fishing, maybe enjoy a delicious snack.
Do anything to reset her mind, and her creative juices will come back.