‘unknown’, ‘sunflowers’ & ‘reminisce’

Anastasiia Terentieva is a Ukrainian fine art and documentary photographer based in the United States. Her work focuses on identity, displacement, and emotional memory, often blending traditional Ukrainian symbolism with contemporary visual language. A former lawyer turned full-time artist, she uses photography to explore womanhood, silence, and cultural resilience. Anastasiia’s projects have been exhibited internationally — in New York, London, Chicago, Barcelona, and more — and published in multiple art and cultural journals.

unknown 

your presence is felt in this ghost town - 

you cock your head - an afterthought - 

a fierce expression - 'woad' on your forearm 

once a pincushion for rococo art 

where 

from a distance 

the throbbing beat of your heart 

holds a mystery 

as a lonely gale 

crosses the street 

only to disappear 

into the fading lights of the city

sunflowers 

under the blue sky 

blazing sunflowers sway in majestic silence 

as thoughtful eyes 

watch them rise 

to their zenith 

drinking the evening sunshine a secluded onlooker 

takes his leave 

with rising spirits - charmed as if tenderly stroked 

with a feather

reminisce 

no one comes here - but towards evening we sit - waiting 

for sunset 

to get a glimpse 

of a spirit 

reflected 

in a broken window or mirror - 

to my surprise 

a faint image looms 

as you turn back 

to memories - 

like shattered glass that has only scratched the surface 

of the strength 

required  

to reminisce

Virginia Elizabeth Samuel writes poetry as a complement to her work as a professional violist and classical composer. She has been published in the Harvard publication, ‘The Advocate’, the British publication, ‘Tears in the Fence’, Denver Quarterly and The Mid-Atlantic Review, among others. She was born in the US, but currently resides in Britain.