sprawled out on the couch
you drop–hypnotized and m e l ti n g
into the futon that sque aks as you
plummet into rainbows
tasting of cherries and grape soda
licking at the air as your pupils e x p a n d
and the silence is LOUD
spinning into a frenzy
you tell me you’ve never been so happy
yet I don’t see you smile
you tell me, it’s true, you’ve never been so happy
so I believe you
laying there, I count the minutes
between the sober black and white
of the clock on the wall
tick tock you say tick tock
I tell you I’ve never been happy
you tell me I’m smiling
As a first post of this season, I just wanted to introduce myself – my name is Tola, and as you can probably tell from the header image and the bad pun in the feature series title: I am a photographer. This is my third and probably last year at Arts at Michigan (I am graduating), so you will see a bunch of new content, but also the good old posts like photography tutorials or themed series. For the new readers, I am a Biopsychology, Cognition & Neuroscience and Classical Archaeology student from Poland. I love traveling almost as much as I love sitting at home sipping a cup of good coffee. I will pet every dog I see on my way to class and in addition to photography I dance often and paint occasionally. This post is an introduction, so maybe instead of jumping into what I prepared for this semester, I will start by simply introducing myself – and since, after all, I am a photographer, I will cut the text short and instead show you through pictures the places that shaped me over the years.
My home – Kraków, Poland
My first college years – London, UK
In high school I briefly lived in Peru and took this picture somewhere in the Andes
After Peru I moved to Rabat, Morocco
Finally I moved to Ann Arbor after transferring to UMich in 2021
Never lived in Italy, but always wanted to (and I did excavations there!)
you told me you were a witch
sorting tarot cards with stubby fingers
prancing between old oak trees
casting spells that you dreamed up
tossing herbs in a cauldron pot
chanting gibberish at the stars
you gasped and cried out
praises for life
distanced from the past
future manifestations
of hope that would last
your heart on your tongue
bleeding words with vigor
but I knew they weren’t listening
just watching you like a million eyes
but I let you believe
because you were magic to me
if the mind has legs
they are spindly
like a spider’s or vines on a plant
which turn, wrap, squeeze, intertwine
without secure direction or honest intention
you look at me
with my spindly legs
but your smile is mischief
like the Cheshire cat’s up above
clinging to a branch in the dark
I find you hard to trust
and I’m sure you’d say the same
munching on an apple in the kitchen because its 2:00 am
snoring because of the five-block traffic jam
licking the yellow strip on an envelope because it’s somehow still 2003
scrolling through dog videos because the test isn’t tomorrow
fishing for the last lucky charm in the bowl because you’re stubborn, damn it
gasping for breath because a Target run can’t wait nothing is like the movies.
(and I did excavations there!)
