My Poetry

“I paint with words and write with mages.”

At the dawn of time, visual art was born, holding its breath until words joined it. Together, they move the senses with a reckless force only matched by nature. I sometimes meld the two to create one experience, and other times allow them to forge their separate paths. Music, the elusive ghost, often accompanies me in my creative journey.

All the Pretty Fish

by Ileana Collazo

I swim in the deep ocean at night, where all the pretty fish I can’t see swim by me as the blue-black water I skim with my body, dipping my head, turning it sideways for a breath.

While the waves are cut sharp by slivers of moonlight, and the stars prick holes into the crumpled blanket that opens and closes as my arms move in tandem, and a breeze chills my bones as it blows off the clouds.

The shore behind me, the horizon ahead of me; always moving away as I keep heading towards it. As the sun slithers up like a golden pendant, and the sky and the ocean turn a pale blue.

A swift silver bullet brushes against me and a second time bumps me.

I fear that my life will soon end, but it disappears, leaving me breathless.

Miami, Florida

December 28, 2017

“Ancient Footprints” | Digital Art

Ancient Footprints

by Ileana Collazo

Sometimes at night I dream about the ghosts that linger and roam where they oncewalked.

The past, and all it left unsaid, we strive so hard to learnabout from remnants it left scattered.

But like a brokenvase that shattered when it fell, the pieces do not match.

Stories left unwritten, images not rendered, lives once lived extinguished.

The present follows suit, unearthing our reality. The future, yet unborn, unsure of where its headed.

Miami, Florida

August 19, 2018

Early on Sunday Mornings

by Ileana Collazo

Sometimes when it is quiet, I still can hear the noises of places I have been to, of voices I have heard.

It takes a while for all the ghosts of faces and all the scent of places to fade to the recesses with thoughts that interlace entangled like the branches that creep up the oak tree that shades the bench I sit on.

Early on Sunday mornings when everyone is resting and I am feeling restless, I fold my hands and pray.

But I cannot be certain that I am beingheard because the wind keeps blowing my hushed whispers astray.

Wednesday, December 7, 2022 Miami, Florida

Bitter Heart by

Ileana Collazo

Lost in a place I know so well, where I cried a pond of tears and looked down at my reflection to see a strange version of myself.

I dwell on things I did wrong, long for things left undone, while I do nothingat all as the minutes pass me by leaving me to wonder what set them in motion, and turned my bitter heart to stone.

Thursday, December 15, 2022 Miami, Florida

Miguel Collazo

Miguel is as much an explorer of ideas as he is a visual artist. His works range from re-imagined portraits to Sci-fi to abstracts to dark art. His mastery of color is as mesmerizing as his impactful black-and-white renderings. The unusual interactions of imagery (some half-hidden, others overwhelmingly present), shapes, and movement liken him to a sorcerer that totally enchants and mesmerizes viewers. His works command close inspection and multiple re-visits that always yield new discoveries.

He received art instruction at Parson's School of Design in New York City, The Art Institute of Boston in Massachusetts, and FIU in Miami, Florida, as well as tutoring in comic book illustration and fine arts in New York, Vermont, and Miami.