Alina doli art
photo - poetry blog and gallery
We, Immigrants
With solemn words etched upon your words
We took to heart
We listened and we came
We, the “poor and huddled masses”
We left our worlds, our lives, and loves and pain
For the unknown “teeming shore”
In search of light and warmth we came
“The wretched refuse” yearning to breathe free
A mighty woman, torch in hand,
She greets us all who dare
To dream, to fail, to rise up, to live
Oh, mighty lady, “Mother of Exiles”
You beckon us to gamble
To take a chance on freedom
And the unknown that we have yet to live.
The New Colossus in the New World harbor
With silent lips, she still invites us all who dare
To enter through “the golden door”.
Date: 12.19.2019
Location: New York, NY
About The Project
Come weary traveler stay a while with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine
Allow yourself a respite from the world
And ease into the moment to connect, to read, to browse, and perhaps reflect
Allow my gallery of words and pictures contribute to your inner peace.
Please take a look, and if it feels right leave a comment, or share a thought.
Mountains on the Horizon
Like sentries, guard my peace in silence
The airbrush strokes of the clouds
Play off the shadows of sun's rays
The orange halo of sun's glow
Reflects its colors in the lake
The lake reflects the soul of Heaven
Where divine presence can be felt.
Golden shimmers on the water's surface
Disguise the spirit
For the divine presence cannot be seen
It must be felt.
The breeze is blowing from the waters
I feel the breeze.
The breeze brings peace
The wind blows over me like rolling waters
Taking with it, for this moment, my questions and anxieties, my fears.
The momentary peace brings comfort, inspiration, faith
My mindfulness is full of color
The landscape bathed in sunset pink
I look around
The mountains on the horizon
Like sentries, guard my peace and silence
Oh, Gods of Love
He left! Oh, Gods of Love, he left!
He left me at the altar all alone.
He took my love and threw it all away,
Without a word, without a single sound.
He left me standing here in my dress,
He left me here all alone.
Instead of everlasting love
It is the curse of heartbreak
That you bestow upon me.
What have I done to earn such wrath?
I loved him like I never loved before
I gave myself to him, my body, heart and soul.
Why punish me like this,
Oh, Gods of Love,
To leave me standing here all alone?
Date: March, 2015
Empty Chair
I found no seashells by the seashore
And then this empty chair caught my eye
It stood there waiting to be inhabited by people,
Lifeguards and visitors alike
And to be the center of attention
Silently observing life around it
Right now it was emptiness the chair was observing,
Save for a few fishermen with empty buckets standing by their sides.
Perhaps they were there for the air,
The scenery and the serenity Atlantic Ocean brings
But the chair stood there alone,
Ignorant of those walking by
It stood there inhaling the sea air
Watching the waves breaking on the seashore
Hoping to catch a glimpse of Aphrodite
In the misty air rising above the ocean waters
Hoping to reach the sky.
But the elusive Aphrodite never came
And the chair stood there dreading dusk,
As darkness would set upon the waters
Settling comfortably for the night
The chair is part of the inevitable cycle
Of days turning into nights
But then with nightfall would come hope
To see the sun's rays breaking through the clouds,
Illuminating the horizon and the sky.
The waters will take on a pinkish glow of the sunrise
And morning air will fill the nostrils of early risers,
And with morning will come light.
Again the chair will be the center of attention
Inhabited by people and silently observing life.
Date: June, 2016
It was a Lovely Sunset
It was a lovely sunset on the lake
The evening settled on the waters
And grasses tickled our soles
We sat in reverence with nature
As joy seeped into our souls
Sun's rays illuminating the descending dusk
I try to savor every moment
I want to dwell in this realm
But time passes, and with each second
The present, it becomes the past
This past we will remember
For we were healed and
We moved closer to the light.
Date: 8.7.24
Venom
It hurts when life decides to prick us with its thorns
And often it picks the most unprickly moments
But it is life, not us, that makes the choice
When it is time to release the venom.
The venom spreads. The eyes, they show pain.
The hands, they bleed, for they are tied.
The wrists are wound tightly by barbed wire
The pain clouds everything
And darkness overtakes the light.
It feels like there's nothing left
Just venom and this intolerable pain
And once again we have no choice
We have to rise and fight through all the pain
The pain fights to stay. It clings to memories, to tears.
The pain's jaws clench deep into the heart.
The pain wants the heart to bleed and the heart bleeds.
It bleeds non stop, until it purges all the venom.
The tears, they warm the heart, which heals and sees the light again.
And life goes on. And we forget the pain.
We may forget, but life remembers all
And will again make the choice when to repeat it all again.
Location: USA, Israel
Date: 2015
At The Lynching Museum
At first, I looked for Jewish names But all the victims in this case Had one thing in common: their race Their names cut into rusted slabs Of steel, they stand and gradually rise to Heaven It didn't matter, young or old Their gender, character, or size What mattered is that they were black Which put a bulls eye on their back To whip, to lynch, to kill, to rape To steal their children To enslave today, tomorrow, and Forever Don't preach morality to me While hanging people from a tree Exalting God and white supremacy I taste the bile on my tongue My tears are stifled in a silent scream This isn't human But I know better I know that fear, stupidity, and hate They know no bounds The evidence around me abounds The robes changed from white to black The tree, the courtroom, or the street With ropes, handcuffs, knees on neck The dead and persecuted numbers Of black people grows It's up to us, not them, to make amends And to acknowledge that this sin was done And we must stop mass incarceration We must do more Whatever it will take We must extend our helping hand Or we will face, as Dr. King has said Violent coannihilation Location: Montgomery, Alabama Date: January 2024
Be Still My Love
Be still my Love
And do not make a sound
Just listen to the whispers of the night
Those sounds,
They belong to lovers
The ones who know passion
Rising deep within their hearts.
They touch in silence
Kisses echoing between them
That's when the whole world ceases to exist
Those moments are the ones they live for
For it is in those moments that they truly live
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Date: 2014
Ides of March
"Be careful of the Ides of March"
A destiny foretold to Rome's once beloved Caesar.
Those words forewarned of his demise,
But Julius, the Caesar didn't listen.
The gods, he thought, were on his side
His victories, he thought, must have appeased them.
But destiny, it had to be fulfilled
And Senate floor absorbed his blood
From Caesar's mortal wounds
As he was stabbed in neck and fell
He whispered to his old friend
"Et tu, Brute"
Location: Italy
Date: March 15, 2016
On the Seashore
I stand. Alone on the seashore
The waves are breaking
They leave me drenched
I'm standing soaked to the bone
I shiver, but I cannot leave
I shiver from the waves of trauma
They cut my skin
The cuts run deep
Like little needles on my soul
They make it difficult to breathe
I need a break
I need some time for healing
Stop! Stop! I yell into the void
But waves don't care and don't hear
The waves keep surging
They hurt my skin
I struggle, but I'm still standing
I'm panting
Searching for a way to heal
I know that I am not alone
I feel your presence
We're all connected
We feel each other's pain by default
I see you in all your pain and beauty
Do you see me?
Let's hold each other's hand
Let's scream together
Releasing our pain
Releasing it deep into the void
Deep breath my friend
We're standing strong
Another breath
Together we're standing
The waves are coming
For such is their fate
And our fate is to face the pain
To cry, to love and to forgive
Let's see each other
Let's unite in love
And as we are piecing love and trauma
Perhaps we'll be so lucky
As to weave
An ever healing peace
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Date: 2014
About The Author
Alina is a passionate writer and photographer who believes in the power and potential of an experience. If we look at life through the lens of whatever happens to us does not unhappen, then we can allow that life is all about the experience. Some experiences are by choice and some are not, but ultimately they all need to be processed. Alina processes her experiences through photography and words blending them into her unique palette of words and colors in photopoetry.
She lives in Bucks County, PA with her husband and two cats, and is a mother of two awesome daughters. Her poem, We, Immigrants, will be published in the October 2024 anthology of Beyond Words magazine.
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