Steemit Vision Quest Week 3 - "Angels Among Us"

The sins that weigh upon my soul
Are never far from mind...
I wrestle demons, grab a hold
But once pinned down I find
Reflections of my face, in shame
Shackles of guilt that bind
The darkest places of my being
To that core of me that shines.

Deep within this mortal form
Is the spark of angel light
Sending the power to transform
And keep me in the fight
To overcome the lure of ease
And stand for what is right
Then fiendish doubt can be released
And my heart-angel take flight!

This is my entry to for this week's Steemit Vision Quest, details can be found here:
https://steemit.com/svq/@cabelindsay/steemit-vision-quest-week-3-angels-among-us

I find it is often easier to see the "angelic" acts of others than to see ourselves that way. We KNOW what is going on in our hearts and heads... that view makes it hard to see angels lol! When I made that stick man for my other project, the idea suddenly flashed of seeking "angels among us" each, as individuals. I tried to tell an illustrated tale of seeking our "highest self" amidst the myriad facets of ourselves that we perceive to be inadequate. (With no artistic skills!)

The process, in reverse order...
I wrote the poem last. I pulled up the "post" form and entered my tags and title, then let the energy just flow. By the time I sat down, the tone and direction of the poem had been formed in my head, it was a matter of letting words roll out. I am an odd duck, I often think in rhyme anyway...

Here is the first draft, pretty close to the final version:

Before that, I was working on my "art work." Yes, it is sort of silly. I am NOT an artist, I am a word nerd. Words are my paint brushes, but sometimes even I want that gut-impact that wordless visuals can give. I find I can convey a LOT with stick people. I have done this for years now, and I like to think I am pretty good at what I am trying to do: Convey a concept without words. I do not think for one minute that I am an artist, so please enjoy the look inside my silly head with LOW expectations artistically, OK? Thanks!

So it started with some cartoons I am doing for my Open Mic entry. The SVQ theme for this week had been given earlier, so this post was rolling around in my head already. When I drew this open mic guy, something in me went "There it is" for my SVQ post.

That fellow is on another quest, but the idea of an "Angels Among Us" sister-stick was born.

I drew a draft, and got a little input from @warpedweaver to confirm my thoughts... The message was unclear, and I was not happy with my stick angel. New piece of paper! Start with the stick angel this time, so I don't have to squeeze her in later...

Now the stick person outside... and my first mistake to erase. That hand is too tiny...

Nope! Those arms will never do, more eraser work! See, even drawing stick people is sort of hard for me... lol!

OK, I won't do this stick by stick, but here is the near-finished version. I added a bit of color to finish it off, as seen in the top photo. All "process" photos were taken with my cell phone, it was handy. I did change to my Fuji FinePix S8300 for the final picture, at the top of the post. I mean, even stick people deserve some respect! :)