My name is Olesia Repa. I am a poet from Ukraine, Kharkiv. I have been living in Crete for two years.
I am 39 years old. I have been writing poems for a long time, for most of my life. The first collection of my poems was published when I was still in school, the second while I was studying at university. My third book was published in April 2025. I donated all proceeds from the sale of the print run to charity.
My works have also been published in different languages in literary almanacs, collective publications, and periodicals. I am a participant, winner, laureate, and judge of many poetry contests. I love emotionality in poems, often hiding contents and meanings.
The spaces vast, where solid ground is gone,
And blue dissolves in blue with quiet grace.
Last year’s regrets leave but a fleeting trace,
As everything is halved and drawn upon.
Into the weightless line where days depart,
There floats a vessel, warm and slightly frayed –
A boat to heal the debt that pain has paid,
A sanctuary for a broken heart.
In each, as in a ward or soft cocoon,
I’d place the shards of souls and boundless grief,
To let the cooling sea bring slow relief,
Until the silence meets the afternoon.
Calm waters and the sun at golden height –
A testament to presence, balance, peace.
Like silent clinics where all sorrows cease,
And every ache dissolves into the light.
Inspired by a photo of the sea near Crete by my friend Lyudmila Loy (a talented photographer from Mariupol)
Poetry in this post: © Olesia Repa
Published with the permission of Olesia Repa