Long ago, there lived a just and kind king. He always tried to keep his kingdom intact, but the grime and old traditions in the palace troubled him.
One day, he gathered his troops and decided to go on a short foray. “Let us not remain only in the palace; we must go and see our people,” he said. On the way, they passed through many villages and saw people rummaging to clean the streets but living in ruined houses. Some had poor dwellings, while others had no shelter at all.
This sight left a very poignant mark on the king’s heart. “My old policy was only about collecting taxes and maintaining order,” he thought. “Now I will begin a new way.”
He announced a decree: the poor would be given estates, and those who lost their homes would be helped to build new houses. To support these works, he ordered that unnecessary trees be pruned and lands be cleared. Soon every village began to prosper, and people started to live in peace.
The king looked at his son and said,
— My son, life is not always predictable. Sometimes people drift adrift in the current. Our duty is to lend them a hand. These good deeds will remain our greatest legacy.
Years passed. When the king died, his son continued his father’s noble work. He created fair policies, never marginalized anyone, and the palace continued to flourish with beauty and honor.
The people were grateful and said,
— Our king not only built a state but also warmed our hearts. The name of the Generous King will live forever!
Hadaa Sendoo is a world-renowned Mongolian poet, translator, and literary critic. He is considered one of the leading voices in contemporary poetry, and his work is a unique milestone in modern poetry worldwide. His work often explores the intersection of nature, nomadic traditions, and universal human suffering. Critics note his ability to blend traditional Mongolian subjects with modernist and avant-garde sensibilities. Sendoo’s poems have been translated into more than 40 languages. In 2012, at the Poetry Parnassus festival in London, where his poems were literally dropped by helicopter over the city as part of a “Rain of Poems” event. He has received numerous honors, including: Poet of the Millennium Award (2000). Mongolian Writers Union Prize (2009). World Peace Prize (2019).
The world seems unable to accommodate your innocent movements
You are holding flowers, jumping and swaying
The cannon covers you with ferocity
You touch the graffiti and turn around the windowsill
Sharp blade blasting threatens your chest
Stripping away your unformed cognition of love
Do you remember the vines planted in your childhood
Do you imagine the expected blooming of flowers
Do you know that your mother also once
Gradually deepening the wait
Waiting for your heart to be opened by love
Share the colors you bring to the world
The cannon fodder will alter the crow painting
Leave behind the gray and white of sorrow and hatred
Filled with sadness that cannot be buried
Remember that the vines are connected deeper into one vein
Continue to hold onto your love
You stand up and try to search for it
Understand that the enemy is the most unworthy existence
You stand up and learn to take steps
Bring true color to the land
Su Yun, 17 years old, is a member of the Chinese Poetry Society and a young poet. His works have been published in more than ten countries. He has published two poetry collections in China, namely Inspiration from All Things and Wisdom and Philosophy, and one in India titled WITH ECSTASY OF MUSINGS IN TRANQUILITY. He has won the Guido Gozzano Orchard Award in Italy, the Special Award for Foreign Writers in the City of Pomezia, and was praised by the organizing committee as the “Craftsman of Chinese Lyric Poetry”. He has also received the “Cuttlefish Bone” Best International Writer Award for those under 25.
From the unpublished book: Cancers Like Plastic Flowers (2026)
Look at me, Homeland and take my tears to wipe away the pain of your heroes.
Look at the streets the palms, face down children without horizons alienated and in darkness in front of a cellphone.
Look at me, Homeland I survive point-blank shots facing the sun and without bars in my mind with my flag in pieces but on my chest.
Here I am in front of the lighthouse my only rhetoric −ours− only rhetoric is to continue being free.
Free without fear without feeling embarrassed for others.
Free without a Homeland that burns every afternoon with great difficulty in soot-stained homes without the laughter of before.
Here I am behind the fence standing surrounded by barbed wire watching the paths full of lovelessness without the cowbell because my freedom flies over the world map.
English Translation by Leidy Díaz Hevia, Cuba.
Del libro inédito: Cánceres como flores de plástico (2026)
Mírame Patria
y toma mis lágrimas
para enjuagar el dolor
de tus héroes.
Mira las calles
las palmas, bocabajo
los niños sin horizontes
enajenados y a oscuras
frente a un celular.
Mírame Patria
sobrevivo a quemarropas
de frente al sol
y sin barrotes en la mente
con mi bandera en pedazos
pero en el pecho.
Aquí estoy frente al faro
mi única retórica
−nuestra−
única
retórica
es seguir siendo libres.
Libres
sin miedo
sin sentir vergüenza
ajena.
Libres
sin una Patria
que arde cada tarde
a duras penas
en hogares tiznados
sin la risa de antes.
Aquí estoy
detrás de la cerca
de pie
rodeada de alambres
mirando los caminos
llenos de desamor
sin el cencerro
porque mi libertad
vuela sobre el mapamundi.
Yuray Tolentino Hevia (Güira de Melena, Cuba, January 31, 1975).
Poet, screenwriter, curator, art critic and producer. He graduated from the Bachelor of Sociocultural Studies and Art Direction. His work has been published in different magazines, newspapers and poetry and narrative anthologies in Cuba, Spain, Argentina, Francia, Indonesia, Chile, the United States, Italy, Puerto Rico, Alemania, Indonesia, Canadá, Colombia, República Dominicana, and Mexico. He has published seven books.
International Award “Tulliola – Renato Filippelli”, 2020, Italy. Mention of Merit in the III Edition of the International Poetry and Photography Award “Diversità come Ricchezza”, Italy, 2021. VIII Edition of the International Award of Excellence “Ciudad del Galateo-Antonio De Ferrariis”, 2021, Italy. First Prize in Poetry of the International Contest of the Foundation Literary International (Cuba – Holland), 2021. Mention of Merit in the II International Poetry Contest “Poets for Peace and Freedom”, 2021, Italy. Since April 2018, she works at the International Film and Television School (EICTV) of San Antonio de los Baños as a producer.
