Breathe a little, Live a little, Yearn a little, Burn a little
Alka
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My Feminist Agenda: acrylics on stretched canvas, 16″x20″
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I Own My Labels
“You need to get past the gender thing. You have to look at the issues. You can’t vote for her just because she is a woman.” I am slip sliding very quickly past middle age into uneasy maturity, my hair is mostly grey defiantly colored, I’ve given up on fitting into my thin jeans and…
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Dreams of Refuge
I woke up in tears today, my heart pounding, my throat hoarse from desperate nightmare screams for my family as the train slowly pulled out of some unknown station. It had been equal parts terror and grief, loss of those I loved and cared for and fear for myself, untethered and disconnected in this world.…
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Appearances
She looked like a serene angel, glowing in the depths of rancid hell. Smooth alabaster high brow, swathe of dark hair falling neatly across her slim shoulders. Dark leather straps barely holding together the shimmering fall of white south silk dress, faintly gleaming with woven threads of real gold. But it was her eyes that…
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Poem: Fragile Rainbows
They say, haven’t you learnedYour lesson? Don’t go paintingSunny rainbows on storm drenchedClouds, you will only get hurt.There are days when I envy theSoft blanketed fireside comfort and wishI could curl up next to the cat, holdingThe book everyone says is just soAmazing but I know I can’t.There are rainbows to be paintedAnd dreams to…
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Poem: My Home
Decorated by my love and imagination Home is wherever I lay my head.
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They are just SO nice
It’s been some time (16 years) since I planned a vacation in Asia, the long flight over the pacific with two kids was always daunting. Europe and Mexico were where we spent our tourist dollars, with intensive planning to optimize the value we got for every cent. Most countries we visited have a well established…
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Crossing over Iwo Jima
After the hugging and crying were mostly done and just before I had to board, my father had approached me with the familiar long suffering look of patience, mixed in with a heavy dose of dubious hesitation. “Alka, this is your passport. Keep it safely, and hand it to U when you get there, immediately!”…
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Passion
The steady glow of seventeen fat sandalwood and vanilla scented candles was reflected in the mirrors hung evenly on the wall. The low hum of the air conditioner set a heavy bass note to the wail of the saxophone, picking up the elusive freshness of the first rain of the season. Plaid stilettos were discarded…
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I’ll Walk Alone
I am loved, they tell me, like no one ever was,I am good, apparently, with the purest of heartsBut but but my words, they say, and yes, my attitudeToo much, too many, too loud, and too confused. I gather my shreds, my shards, my shameAnd lift up my chin, square my shoulders and thenI say…
Available on Amazon
In me the river flows is set of poems that describe the complex layers of betrayal and grief to resolute determination, with calm pools of compassion through it.
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