STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL AND THE INSTINCT FOR ‘GIVE AWAY’

When from a liquid, a drop is formed, it is trapped into the struggle for survival. Its shape depends on how much the  winds press its sides, and how much the light sucks its vitality. The moment it is formed, the eternal countdown begins, and then, as the day passes, a part of it is lived out. Finally, a moment arrives, when winds suck it back.

The sun and the night, the moon and the stars, the oceans and the mountains – they saw it form, flourish, and then finish. When we see this bubble, this drop, this human being, he is in the throes of a struggle, the wise call the struggle for survival.  

When man is born, he too resembles a drop of life, and it is not difficult to see how this struggle for survival has started in the womb itself. Parents try to soften the pangs of this struggle in the initial years, but as soon as a child grows up, his march to adulthood is marked with pitfalls and boobytraps, and this struggle continues through the adult years, right up to the time he reaches the ventilator, the launch pad from where, hollow-copters  fly on a journey into the unknown. 

All through this life, the man was trying to stay alive and he did not mind this struggle which left him alive although so many lost their lives. The first and foremost thing for man is to preserve his life. Once he is secure in his body, mind and soul, he starts thinking of embellishments which make  life beautiful. Art steps in, music steps in. Love steps in. It is now a paradigm of passions.

Just think of a journey in a plane. When the plane runs on the runway, and takes the dive up, our hearts sink. That is the initial shock we experience. But as it gains its speed, and becomes stable, we forget we are on a mission of do or die. The hostesses make you oblivious of the perils of the journey with their offer of drinks, food etc. In a few moments, the feeling of danger passes, and we start thinking of our life, some open their laps tops. Some go to sleep. The feeling of struggle will return when the plane lands, because, that too is a moment fraught with danger. 

The idea is the struggle for survival is the basic instinct of man, and it remains with him all through. The question in the struggle for survival is when the idea of ‘how’ steps in. To keep alive is the first instinct, and this is animal instinct, the minimal, and the basest. We begin with this instinct. No doubt, throughout life, we have to keep alive till we reach the launch-pad, are we in the survival mode all through?

Can this instinct describe man in his entirety? I think, No. As soon as man acquires a sense of stability, he starts thinking of values, and the quality of his conduct in life. The focus shifts from the body to the mind and we are confronted with higher truths of life.

Existence is the essential truth  but adding value to it is no less.  I met a childhood friend who had retired from civil services. He held one grouse and it was against himself. He earned money, had a great going in his life, but what he has left behind? We, who believe in struggle for survival, also believe in the idea of a ‘take away’ from this struggle.

But, a time comes when we start thinking, was there any ‘give away’ also? 

Dr. Jernail Singh Anand, with an opus of 180 plus books, is Laureate of the Seneca, Charter of Morava, Franz Kafka and Maxim Gorky awards.  His name adorns the Poets’ Rock in Serbia. Anand’s work  embodies a rare fusion of creativity, intellect, and moral vision.

NEW YEAR’S RESILIENCE

In the garden of grit, where shadows stretch,

Weary vines climbed through thorns of the past,  

Each task a tempest, each moment a wave,  

But beneath the storms, the roots clenched tighter.    

Wounds like constellations, pain etched in stardust,  

I tread softly on the stars of my battles,  

With a heart forged from fire, I rise,  

A phoenix unfurling wings against the horizon.    

I glance towards the edges of humanity,  

Where houses tremble like leaves in a gale,  

And children cradle hunger like a secret,  

While hope drips like honey from the skies.   

For I carry an ember, a spark of tomorrow,  

In the crucible of compassion, I harden my resolve,  

With the sun as my compass, I stride into dawn,  

Determined to dismantle the darkness with each step.    

Amidst the chaos, I gather the broken shards,  

Crafting a mosaic of dreams yet to bloom,  

The country of compassion calls me forth,  

And I answer with the drumbeat of courage in my chest.    

So let the New Year be a canvas unwritten,  

With colors of resilience, where challenges weave,  

An artist of hope, I paint my destiny,  

Knowing the dawn is only a heartbeat away.   

***

THESE DAYS OF CELEBRATION

I saw many of these festive days at the end of the year.

I saw bags weighing down hands,  

Decorations and lights that sparkled,  

And I saw the city like a bride adorned.  

I saw the sun and the moon descending to Earth,

Eyes and hearts of people igniting a rainbow,  

I saw embraces and kisses full of longing,  

Endless wishes that cannot be counted.  

I also saw the beggar’s hands like a cancer metastasis,

His statue frozen by the roadside of a noisy city,   

Eyes that remained a mist of rain of sadness,  

And his look of pain – a frost that freezes you.  

I hope that the coming New Year will see it,

And change the statue for a more beautiful one,  

To see also the indifferent, cold soul of people, 

And I wish to grant them a warmer heart.

THE TURNING OF THE PAGE

The year now fades, a closing book,

Of rushing streams and quiet corners.

We turn our heads to look behind,

At all the moments, sharp and kind.

So gather up the laughter’s chime,

The silent tears, the borrowed time.

Each thread is woven, dark and bright,

Into the fabric of the light.

We stand upon the threshold’s gleam,

And step into the newborn dream.

With lessons held and spirit worn,

We greet the coming, hopeful morn.

Post Accident

Bloodstained hair peels back

glass shards at this velocity.

Wind of a

stranger’s comic bubbles

float towards me

as the boxcar finally stops.

I am jet lagged, metal in my mouth,

vertigo knocks on

the noggin and

blue, purple, and pink bruises

make a home for themself

on my charred skin.

Glass paper cuts on hands

sting me as I’m trapped in.

I am still in awe of the number

of patrons that stopped in

for a well being check

as they tow the remnants

under the overpass

and fish me out of the

driver’s seat

as I bob up for air

again.

Eva Petropoulou Lianou

Water, Air, Pollution everywhere

We breathe the plastic

People are swimming among the garbage into the Ocean

We expect to have a clean atmosphere and be happy

But people are bombing citizens and countries with

Poison

We are taking for environmental health

But we humans

We pollute

We don’t respect our selves

We don’t respect nature

We play God

We create earthquakes

We create rain

We create typhoon

One day Earth

Will say enough

And human will be rejected

For his bad behaviour

Review By poet

Kujtim Hadjari

This poem is a powerful and direct critique of human environmental destruction and self-destructive behavior. It’s not subtle—it’s a cry of anger and warning.The poet argues that our interference is not wise or divine; it’s a dangerous, arrogant disruption of natural systems. The poet, after explaining the danger we have created for our Earth, ends with a prophetic warning. It personifies the Earth as a living entity that will one day reach a breaking point: ”enough.”/”Human will be rejected” – This is the final, devastating consequence. Not just punished, but ”rejected,” like an organ rejects a foreign body or a host rejects a parasite. The implication is that the Earth will cleanse itself of humanity to survive.The poem is an ”eco-apocalyptic warning.” It argues that humanity’s pollution, violence, and arrogant manipulation of nature are not separate issues—they are all symptoms of the same disease: ”a fundamental lack of respect for the living system that sustains us.”The poet believes this path is suicidal. If we continue to act as a destructive, parasitic force, the Earth (through climate catastrophe, ecosystem collapse, or our own poisoned environment) will ultimately make the planet uninhabitable for us. It’s a call to recognize our interconnectedness with nature before it’s too late.In short, we are poisoning our own nest, and if we don’t stop, we will be evicted.The poem is a call for all inhabitants to change their behaviour for our living system.

AUTUMN LOVE IN PRISTINA

We met in the fall,in the amphitheater you tweet

The streets of Pristina,

in the cold night,

Shoot me like a mountain fairy.

the stars were aligned

That summer evening in your tear,

we were both lost in the untouched oasis

and the lips stopped at the sounds FlokArtë.

Why did we travel, tell me whyin the cold winter and snow,

the beaming sun gave us a gift,you ray of sunshine lit me siashra.

Why did we run to the meadows, why

in the early spring fragrance of love

we pray to the flowers of the green field,

Embraced we felt exotic intoxication.

VALENTINE’S DAY 

Lora

Embroidered Valentine’s Day

on the map of love

Egnatia-Naisus street

and in passing I also took

the honey flavor

from the hot ashes

of the estinguished fire.Lora

like a blonde ladybug in the meteorite

nobody whispers

on the map of love

and the star twister out of exhausted longing

in the timeless feeling

brought the freshness of age

the kiss of the mountain like Hera from Olympus

departed in the endless today

Night.

Lora

Frozen in heat

slightly heated to the bosom of love

“I’m very cold

Lan takes me with him

tonight

I do not want flowers

a white rose

to have for Valentine’s Day!

DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH LORA 

Do not fall in love with Lora, my friend,

for she has left her heart in pledge with mine.

It beats within my chest like a wave,

Like the echo of a song across the mountain line.

You may kiss her lips,you may call her yours,

but her eyes are skies without a sun,a night without a moon,

A cloud without rain,

a flame without ember burning, yet hidden in a cold bosom.

You may hold her close,

you may call her your own,

but her love she left to me in pledge,

Through ages and through time unknown.

So fall not for her gaze, young man

she is the dream of a silent yearning.

You will have a love without hope,

for her heart remains my pledge,

forever turning.

LAN QYQALLA graduated from the Faculty of Philology in the branch of Albanian language and literature in Prishtina, from Republika of Kosovo. He is a professor of the Albanian language in the Gymnasium. Lani is the Editor-in Chief of the international cultural and artistic magazine ORFEU, which is published in many languages in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. He is also the editor of the cultural show ORFEU on TV Jupiteri7 channel on YouTube. He wrote poems, stories, drama, novels in Pristina. He has written in many newspapers, portals, Radio, TV, and Magazines in the Albanian language and in English, bangu, Romanian, Francophone, Turkish, Arabic, Italian, Greek, Swedish, Hindu, Spanish, Korean etc. 

The unforgettable day

There is such a day when words become unnecessary

you touch someone’s shoulders

you are not ashamed of tears

then you understand more

than on other days of the year

the masks that hide resentments fall

it’s good that there is

such a unique day

a white communion wafer*

placed on hay

glows in the candlelight

then the Eternal One spreads love

without noise or advertising

then you do not shy away

From His touch

quiet and incomprehensible

Translated by Olga Smolnytska 

* In Polish tradition, on Christmas Eve, families share the Christmas communion wafer, which symbolizes love, unity, forgiveness and reconciliation between people. (The author’s note)

The Calling

I wandered, thinking off to the side

I tried to love

always imperfectly

an angel was shedding feathers

I didn’t see the signs

I understood very little

more and more questions are catching up with me

take my fear with your love

take me where nothing ever ends

silence becomes a melody

take me

Translated by Sr. Paula Drożdż

dewdrops

falling dewdrops

carelessly announced

their presence on the bench

wanted to arouse admiration

in a single moment in human

illuminated by the rays

of the rising sun

revealed a unity

split in two

Amazement

Filled the milieu 

Translated by Olga Smolnytska

Aleksandra Sołtysiak (Poland), graduate of the Catholic University of Lublin  and Jagiellonian University in Kraków. She has served as coeditor of the poetry anthology Dotyk nadzie (The Touch of Hope), which was translated into Ukrainian and German, as well as of the international anthology in support of world peace The tree of peace turns green / European poetry for universal harmony, which has been translated into Polish and English. She i also the author Hope blossoms longer and the published poetry volume „Spilled from the cases”. Finalist in the fourth International Poetry Contest, „Voices in the Wilderness” held in Rome (2022). She publishes nationally and internationally. She has also been awarded the Gold Cross of Merit by Polish president Andrzej Duda. In 2023 distinguished with a medal for Merit to Polish Culture.Information about the translator:Olga Smolnytska,  (Ukraine), PhD, writer, artist, literary critic.