Original artwork description:

“ Don't call!

Then he appears.
No thunder. No lightning.
Just the smell of aftershave and bitterness.
The silence between two strangers.

He was sitting on the curb.
The bottle was almost empty.
The smell of piss and old oil.

Then a shadow.
Heavy shoes.
"You're hard to find," said a dry voice.
He looked up.
The father stood there. In a jacket. Clean.

"What do you want?" he asked, tired.
"To see you," the father lied.
They both knew it.
"I took the money."
"I know."
"Guess it didn't work."

"You're ashamed of me," he said.
"Yes," the father said, like a diagnosis.
"I didn't understand how someone could be so lost."
"I didn't understand how you're supposed to love your child when you only despise them."

Then there was only silence.
Two men, one like a tombstone, the other like a pile of earth.

The father didn't leave right away.
Then he said: "I won't send you any more money.
But... if you need something—really need something—
don't call."

This painting is a visualization of my poem “Don’t call!”.
Unfortunately it is far more autobiographical than I intended to. Yes, it is a quite perfect reflection of my relationship to my father.

I sell, of course, the painting and the signed poem, printed on thick high quality paper.

Painting and Poem by
Siniša Alujević - 2025

Materials used:

Gouache, Acrylic

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