Untitled

this painting has been
for four years now.
But the painter has
refused to release it,
not because it was unfinished,
but because she felt
there was still something missing.

But she couldn't quite
put a finger on it.
She would stare at this portrait
for hours on end,
and the female face
would stare back at her,
mocking her.

But today was the day
she would finally complete this painting.
She was a practitioner
of the Wiccan arts,
and on this day,
she would offer a prayer
to the goddess Venus
as the planet sailed across
the face of the Sun God.

And she did offer a prayer,
a weird mix
of Latin and Gaelic,
invoking inspiration
from the goddess of beauty.
She muttered her prayer,
while staring at the sun
through her solar spectacles.

And then
it hit her.

She ran to her desk,
and finding a black marker,
she rushed back to her painting,
then placed a small black dot
right above the portrait's upper lip.
Then she stepped back,
admired her work
and whispered,
"Finally."

Three days later,
she made half a million pesos
for her painting
30 inches by 45 inches,
oil on canvas,
entitled
"The Transit of Venus".