In art class
Ms. Rinaldi had said that
the white space on the page
is also part of our illustration
The white space on the page
also tells a story, is part of the big picture
I didn’t get what she was saying at first
Then she showed us this painting
An optical illusion, she called it
There was a white face
with eyes, a nose, and a mouth
against a black background
But when I looked sideways
or backward or upside down
there was a black face with
eyes, nose, and a mouth
against a white background
And it was wild how my eyes
played tricks on me like that
but it was my mind that
made sense of it all
It’s wild how our minds
can play tricks on us like that
