Fragments: We are in pieces.

We are in pieces.

Fragments. Shards. Tiny particles that don’t fit together
Mismatched codes,
Ironically similar
In our flaws and lacks

We walk, but we don’t question the journey. We don’t understand the path, It seems deprived of destination and purpose. We just carry on, with or without legs With or without eyes. We just follow silent orders Anonymously in the crowds We dare not to stand out of norm, of compliance We can’t stop Catch our breath. Disrupt traffic, Rest. We succumb to the steep climb. Hoping that the unbridled descent will shorten the path, spare us, somehow.

We walk, breathe, we eat and sleep when possible. We obey inevitably. We are all besieged. Inside and outside all the walls in this world. We are patient and we go mad We wait, and we hope that something will change Someone will save us Anything will happen Besides the pain Despite the fate Beyond the insanity Above the oppression Under the sun We are scattered all over the place Living lawful lies Defying absurdities Coping with what is. But what is Is way less than we deserve

We dream of surviving chaos and catastrophe Hoping our fate would heal and redeem us. We surrender to time Holding to the pieces that are long gone Whipping the dust off our remains wiping dry tears off our eyes We continue, filled with shivering hope and whatever is left of our sacred innocence.

Luciana Mariano ©

Waiting – acrylics on fine Belgian linen – 180×215 cm

Painting done during the Serlachius Residency in Mänttä, Finland, between March and June 2025.