Facing the Sky
The traces she clearly knows,
I may stumble upon by chance.
They need to be covered again,
Most feared—this is a kind of respect.
The wounds she hasn’t fully recognized,
Unintentionally seen by me,
Must remain exposed,
Not feared—this is a kind of impulse.
The purpose is the cycle,
The cycle is the purpose,
I follow the latter more faithfully.
As long as the stars don’t fall,
Let loneliness marry the eyes.
In Your Eyes
Different colors of red I paint on your lips with mine
and one soul has always been shared between us
You have walked every step with me in this life
And we will continue together through eternity
No other hand will ever touch my skin
And no other heart will ever beat with mine
In your eyes I’ve seen the glow of the moon at night
and the beauty of the golden sun at dawn
There has never been anyone who can compare
to the heart which holds all the love within me.
Look upon me as you always have…
Like a thief waiting to steal a precious treasure from within me.
Long Ago I Wrote a Love Poem
Long Ago, I wrote a love poem
that filled the pages of my heart
I never said who I was writing it for
I don’t think I even knew at first
Then I found that something was missing
with each love poem I tried to write
Every poem I had written with you came easily
but without your lines, they felt incomplete
I watched others try to finish your poems
I never spoke a word of discouragement
But in my heart I knew the reason
and now, I think you do too
No one can finish your poem but me
because we write as one person together
And the same goes for my poems without you.
A bond that has always baffled us both
now makes perfect sense…
Our Colorful Dream
I have had more intimate conversations with you
looking into your eyes in silence than speaking.
Life was so empty until you appeared one day
as a result of a prayer I prayed in sadness.
You now bring the sun into my once dark life
and have transformed my hues from black to gold.
You became the knight in my once woeful tale
and I long to stay the beautiful dream in your realm.
I have watched our love grow so strong over time
that no evil could ever penetrate our colorful dream.
You are the love story who became my reality.
Kristy Ann Raines is an American poet and author born in Oakland California, in the United States of America. She is an accomplished Global Poet and Writer who has written and published three books.
* “The Passion Within”, by Kristy Raines
* “I Cross my Heart from East to West”, by Kristy Raines and Dr. Prasana Kumar Dalai
* “Echoes Across the Oceans”, by Kristy Raines and Nasser Alshaikhahmed
Kristy is right now writing a few children’s books, which will be released sometime this year.
A GOODBYE
It was stormy, cold day, autumn breezes were crashing against her window from time to time and Anne was sitting there without blinking her eyes like a statue in Plato’s academy of Athens, lost in the typhoon of her thoughts. Meanwhile, her mother knocked on the door.
‘’Anne be ready, your father is about to arrive, you have to go to the market’’
It shocked her for a while, she quickly placed her sketch book back in her tote bag, her eyes got captivated by her very own laptop, her ‘fantasia’. A river of tears, started to follow through her eyes. Today was the day, she had to go to market to buy a new laptop, as her ‘fantasia’ was no longer working. She had to replace it, although her heart was reluctant to idea of let go of her partner of years, with whom she shared her nights, days, her ideas, her laughter. It wasn’t easy for her to let go.
She took out her diary and began to write something, while tears flowed through her eyes:
‘I loved you as much as I love blue, as much as I love winter. You have been a piece of my heart for so long; no one can take your place. Fantasía. Goodbyes are hard, yet inevitable. Leaves grow from the stem, withstand so many winds, breezes, and storms, until they lose the stem and fall in late autumn. Spring returns with new leaves, but can they replace their predecessor? Just like the Deluge can’t replace the Big Bang. Wounds shed skin, yet when they heal, they leave a scar behind. Oceans dry up, yet they leave behind their remains. Nothing is replaceable. Everything holds a somewhat unique place in space, and this prophecy is eternal, long-standing, and as old as the tiniest particle in the universe.’’
She closed the diary with the hope that fantasia will always accompany her as memory of love and resilience. The storm outside had been silenced just like ashes of pain in her heart.
Fiza Amir is a Pakistani writer and poet, and a medical student by training. Her work grows out of hospital wards, history, and the quiet interior lives of people—where grief, compassion, and resilience meet. She writes with a spare, lyrical voice that turns lived moments into witness, believing that some stories survive only when they are written.
LOOKING THROUGH
Man is trapped in his self
Main main. (I ..I)
When this trap breaks
It is You .. you.
There are very few
Who go beyond this extremity
When main (I) and you cease
It is He He He ..
Actually it is He who existed
Before Main (I) and You
And He will stay
When I and You are blown away
You are the Buddha
If you can see through
Your own face
Or in the face of you.
Ostanaqulov Xojiakbar’s Participation in an International Innovation Competition and Conference in China
In October 2025, Ostanaqulov Xojiakbar, a student of Andijan State Technical Institute, took part in a series of high-profile international academic and innovation events held in the People’s Republic of China. His participation marked an important milestone in his academic and professional development, while also highlighting the growing international engagement of Uzbek students in global innovation platforms.
On October 13, 2025, the China International College Students’ Innovation Competition brought together nearly 500 teams from different countries, creating a highly competitive environment focused on innovation, engineering creativity, and technological solutions. Among the finalists of this large-scale international competition was Ostanaqulov Xojiakbar, who successfully advanced through multiple stages and ultimately earned the Silver Award (2nd place). This result demonstrated Ostanaqulov Xojiakbar’s strong analytical thinking, problem-solving skills, and ability to perform at a high level in an international setting.
The achievement of Ostanaqulov Xojiakbar attracted particular attention due to the scale and prestige of the competition. Reaching the final stage and receiving a Silver Award in a contest of this magnitude was recognized as a significant accomplishment, reflecting both individual capability and the increasing competitiveness of students from Uzbekistan and Central Asia on the global stage.
During the competition, Ostanaqulov Xojiakbar actively engaged in academic and professional exchanges with representatives of leading Chinese universities. In particular, discussions with professors from Shanghai Jiao Tong University focused on innovation-driven education, research collaboration, and future opportunities for international cooperation. These interactions contributed to strengthening academic ties and expanding professional networks at the international level.
Following the competition, on October 18, 2025, an international conference dedicated to the China International College Students’ Innovation Competition was held at Northwest Agriculture and Forest University in Shaanxi Province, China. The conference gathered participants from Central Asian countries as well as representatives from several other regions, serving as a platform for dialogue on student innovation, education, and international collaboration.
At the conference, team leaders from five countries were invited to speak as official speakers. Representing Uzbekistan, Ostanaqulov Xojiakbar participated as a speaker and delivered a presentation focused on the competition experience and its broader academic significance. In his speech, Ostanaqulov Xojiakbar provided insights into the innovation process, shared reflections on international academic cooperation, and highlighted the achievements of Andijan State Technical Institute in engineering education. Special emphasis was placed on the institute’s role in preparing highly qualified engineers and its standing among the leading engineering higher education institutions in Uzbekistan.
One of the most notable initiatives voiced during the conference was proposed by Ostanaqulov Xojiakbar—the idea of organizing the Central Asian stage of the China International College Students’ Innovation Competition in Uzbekistan in the coming year. This proposal generated strong interest among participants and organizers, who viewed it as a promising step toward enhancing regional cooperation, increasing student mobility, and strengthening innovation ecosystems across Central Asia.
The international activities of Ostanaqulov Xojiakbar in China reflect his active involvement in global innovation processes, his confidence in international academic communication, and his growing professional presence on the global stage. His participation in both the competition and the conference stands as a clear example of how young specialists from Uzbekistan are increasingly contributing to international innovation and academic dialogue.
An Appointment Beneath the Magnolia Tree
By Lan Xin (China)
A thousand years ago
I knelt and prayed before the Buddha:
“Let me meet thee in my fairest hour.”
It was a spring day, magnolias breathing fragrance.
I came, my gown trailing fluttering butterflies,
Eyes soft as rippling autumn waters,
Graceful in every step,
A faint smile playing on my lips.
There thou stoodest beneath the magnolia tree—
Still the gentle, noble gentleman of yore,
Gazing at me, transfixed,
Lost in a trance,
Lost in a dream.
My beloved,
Dost thou recall our pact from that past life?
The sacred oath we swore beneath this very tree?
I stretch out my palm—
A crimson mole bears witness.
For this moment of reunion,
I have waited a thousand years.
Throughout these thousand years,
I wandered through a thousand mountains and rivers,
Until my face bloomed like a white magnolia—
Just to mirror, in the lake of thy heart,
That fleeting glance, that soft smile of yore.
A longing woven through three lifetimes,
At long last, no longer adrift.
This moment—
Is but a dream,
A sweet intoxication.
In dreams,
That thousand-year-long yearning
Turned into one beautiful encounter after another:
Meeting thee, beneath the magnolia tree.
That longing embroidered deep in my heart
Unfolded into an endless, tender rapture.
I wake at the dawn of spring,
As if thou wert right beside my pillow—
Thy scent within reach,
Thy warmth lingering in my palms,
Thy tenderness still imprinted on my brows.
My beloved,
Follow the path from our dreams,
Go find that magnolia tree.
Upon its blooms—lingers my fragrance,
Within its boughs—our hearts reflect each other.
When thou findest it,
I shall come.
Paradise on Earth – Shangri-La
By Lan Xin (China)
High-dimensional winds gently push open the gate of light above snow-capped peaks
Wooden houses, mirrored by starlight, sink softly into lake waves
Meadows stretch beyond clouds, reaching all the way to the Milky Way’s edge
Gramophones spin, as if carrying time along at a slow, gentle pace
Libraries hold atlases, their pages painted with rivers and mountains
Songs of all ethnic groups drift together across the vast cosmic galaxy
No gunsmoke sears the wings of doves
No strife tears apart the veins of our planet
All living things unfold, blooming into the shape of love—
Different faiths overlap here, weaving a single tapestry of peace
Different languages all speak of the longing for “harmonious coexistence”
Different skin tones gather here, merging into a single warmth
Different ethnic groups weave here, crafting a shared tranquility
Diverse cultures blend closely, like snow-capped mountains with all creation
If you ask, what color is an ideal world?
It is the cosmic light held together by all skin tones
It is the song of peace sung in the same heartbeat by all
It is a tender love letter from Shangri-La to the world
It is a pure paradise bathed in the glow of sun and moon
It is a paradise on Earth lifted by snow-capped peaks
It is a spiritual home that crosses mountains and seas
It is the mystical Eastern land written of by Western pens
It is a Utopian dream where humanity transcends dimensions
It is a beautiful model of boundless coexistence in the world
May the love of the universe flow across every mountain and river on Earth
May every corner of the world mirror the image of Shangri-La
May every face glow with the smile of earthly happiness
May every soul find the Shangri-La—within their hearts
Profile of Lan Xin (Lan Xin Samei)
Lan Xin (Lanxin Samei) is an internationally renowned Chinese-English bilingual writer and translator, the only female inheritor of UNESCO Memory of the World-listed Dongba Culture, Dean of Lanxin Samei Academy and Yulong Wenbi Dongba Culture Academy, and laureate of Premio Letterario Internazionale Francesco Giampietri.
Her works have been translated into English, French, German, Italian and other languages. Her original Lan Xin’s Wisdom Quotations has captivated over 100 million readers at home and abroad, delivering Chinese culture and philosophical wisdom to the world. Widely acclaimed by international media, she has been hailed as the “Ambassador of Universal Love”, “Cultural Envoy Between East and West”, “Epitome of Multicultural Integration” and “Guide for Contemporary Women”, standing as a paradigm for the global dissemination of Chinese culture.
Facebook: Lan Xin
Wechat: lanxin9999
Email：282051089@qq.com
Late to the Second Coming
Irreverential, blasphemous
silence;
profane void,
absence of Presence.
Shallow, knee-shaped
dimples, slowly
disappearing from the
hassock before coagulating wine.
Sanctuary air,
not stale;
trace symphony of
pheromonic Bachian notes.
Wafer white
quartered-halves;
bread of life crumbs
trailing the Way?
Multi-hued tendrils
caressing the
onion-thin parchment;
celestially highlighting
1 Thessalonians 4:17.
Stole-draped,
cross-adorned
pulpit.
“Eli, Eli
lama sabachthani.”
The nighttime thief
has come;
revelation dawns…
A fool in want of oil.