May I Paint You a Poem: My Collective Selves

 A 13-Poem Collection

PRELUDE

The title, May I Paint You a Poem, came into existence and lingered gently within my grasp, until its whispers could no longer be subdued—I laid pieces of me at last.

Inspired by an artist in her own right and time; she paints with brushes dipped in dreams—the canvas of her mind. While my heart longs to paint the picture my soul sees, my craft speaks instead through the weaving of words—a tapestry.

WHAT REMAINS, WHAT RISES

Time unfolds in fleeting strands, a path unmarked by careful hands.

Choices made in hurried flight, some in shadow, some in light.

Years lay dormant, words held tight, a silent voice, a hushed insight.

Now they rise, no longer still, ink flows forth by fire by quill.

This is my heart, my love, my soul, woven in lines to make me whole.

No debt is owed, no gift returned, just pages and pages that did not burn.

To those before, to those ahead, to whispered dreams, to words once said.

To the four who claim my heart, who’ve shaped my life, who played their part.

Unshaken love, a vow untold, as seasons change, as years unfold.

Their joy, their light, their spirit free—forever safe, they dwell in me.

With every dawn, with breath anew, I stand in light from a life I knew.

Each day a tale, a spark, a sign—unwritten verses yet in mind.

With Grace & Ink,

~Mai

THE

COLLECTION

  1. Violet

  2. Packing Up Memories

  3. If a Star Had a Wish

  4. Sorrow: The Sparrow & The Willow Tree

  5. Ba Gia

  6. To the Edge & Back

  7. Streets of Old

  8. Canvas of Thoughts

  9. Colours of Sorrow

  10. Captured Moments In a Jar

  11. Falling Sun, the Edge of Night

  12. Fragments of September

  13. May I Paint You a Poem

For the Four Loves of My Life, 

You are the full moon illuminating the darkest night.

You are the star on the stage of the bluest midnight. 

You are the glittery sunlight that dances with the winds through the leaves of the tallest trees. 

You are the soft rain that falls into a perfectly chilled autumn day’s breeze.    



Author Bio

Mai Wells paints with words. A poet, a storyteller, and a dreamer, she finds language to be a bridge between the seen and unseen, the felt and the forgotten. Her poetry invites readers into quiet reflection, into the spaces where time lingers and memory breathes.

She believes in the power of transformation, that every written line is a thread in the grand tapestry of human experience. May I Paint You a Poem, is not just a collection but a moment of invitation—to see, to feel, to remember.

Mai lives where the sea meets the sky, collecting moments, listening to the quiet between the waves.

Acknowledgments

To those who have walked beside me, to the voices who have lifted mine, to the unseen hands that guided this work into being—thank you. You are present in every word.

To poetry itself: for always being there when I had no other way to speak.

To those who have found their way to these pages—may you discover something that lingers, something that resonates, something that speaks to you in ways only poetry can.