This poem is part of Corey Cook’s recently released chapbook heads held low, which is available here.

My Sunset

You are the sun that sets my sunset on fire,

Painting the sky with fire and passion;

A fiery red, a satin orange,

Where your kisses, sweet honey, merge in my song.

Your voice, the breeze that whispers softly,

Among the leaves of my heart;

A warm whisper, a scent that bewitches me,

Like the jasmine that blooms in the afternoon, without ceasing.

Your gaze, the sea that calms my wave,

A deep blue, an endless mystery;

Its waves, gentle caresses on my soul,

That cradle my fears and make me smile.

You are the moon that guides my night,

With its silver light, full of peace;

A soft glow, a silver halo,

That lights up my path and turns my face away.

My sunset is beautiful, tinged with gold,

Because in your love I find my dawn;

The perfume of your skin, the fragrance of the dew,

An eternal dawn, a sweet and warm comfort.

GRACIELA NOEMI VILLAVERDE is a writer and poet from Concepción del Uruguay (Entre Rios) Argentina, based in Buenos Aires She graduated in letters and is the author of seven books of poetry, awarded several times worldwide. She works as the World Manager of Educational and Social Projects of the Hispanic World Union of Writers and is the UHE World Honorary President of the same institution Activa de la Sade, Argentine Society of Writers. She is the Commissioner of Honor in the executive cabinet IN THE EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL RELATIONS DIVISION, of the UNACCC SOUTH AMERICA ARGENTINA CHAPTER.

In a vision I had a hat and a coat, warm pants and boots. But nothing was at all for what people think of as style or fashion. Everything was functional only, and it was in the days before trouble and such. Happy. I was between two hills, in a clearing, behind my house then. I know exactly where I was.

On one side, where I came from, were large homes, while on the other side were sullen grey brick buildings, seemingly with no joy. It was snowing thick and fast and it wasn’t too windy. My eyes were closed and sometimes opened and I looked up and tried to let the snow land in my eyes. I would sense when it did and it didn’t bother me. I was with my spirit and with the spirit and the nature world and air and snow was also a spirit. Spirit spirit spirit spirit spirit. I was alone. All alone, world-wise. I turned sometimes like a whirling dervish. I didn’t really have a focal point like ballerinas use I just rather saw everything and became dizzy and fell over.

The ground was softened by snow. There was nothing gold at all, but later, I thought of it as a golden place for it somehow felt golden. I was innocent. I had always been innocent. That was how I felt the gold. I turned from my side which I had landed on, to my back and stared around. Everything looked different and from that perspective one spot was not good and one spot was not bad. There were just things. The buildings and their balconies, the high brown framed rooftop. Trees to the side. The fence where the ravine began. Grey.

My own wooden fence that sat atop a series of railway ties that made a retaining wall. How was I there? And why? I heard a bird, and didn’t see anything, but then thought I saw something fly through the winter air out of the corner of my eye. The neighbour’s yard, completely different, with no fence or walls or anything at all. Which is ironic or something because the owner was a skilled and successful engineer.

His youngest son adopted me as a younger brother to him, in real life. Though from eight siblings, he had nobody after him. He taught me how to tie my shoelaces. Later, how to fight. And he taught me well because I could win against a few of the older kids. And how to skateboard. I wonder whatever happened to him. The ravine things like trees just grew there also. A manicured cultivated world in parts, and a feral earth in others. Nobody went past. I could hear no soul. I thought I heard angels singing but they were distant, in the inside somewhere in another world. It was nice. I was warm but then began to feel cold. I stood up. I was still okay but my head hurt a little bit. The sun had been somewhere and now it was getting dark, given to a sudden dusk. I felt a bit nervous for some reason. Cleaning the snow off myself, and adjusting my hat, I began to make steps towards home. 

FAREWELL 

I've got to say "farewell"
For now, I'm happy to tell.
This is my ultimate goodbye.
Not a single drop of tear to cry.

Farewell to you, the old "me!"
Elated like winning a prix.
Call of a grandeur awakening,
To a better self, I am becoming.

Life of anxieties and melancholy,
Recreated into joy and serenity.
Life of fear and loneliness,
Now filled with love and happiness.

Drowned into the waters of desperation,
Now facing the beauty with sheer admiration.
It is my time to shine and rejoice
For in my life, this is my best choice!

Farewell to the self of my yesterdays,
Know the new me without overlays.
See the most beautiful transformation,
Richly deserving great felicitation.

Leaving behind cynicism, be shunned
As the days roll by and quickly spun
It's a day to wear my heart on my sleeve,
I am at my best, trust and believe!

Writing is the tool of emotional healing”. Meet Abeera Mirza, an English literature gold medalist, teacher and gifted poet. She won numerous awards for her passion for words. Her poem “Sorry” has inspired readers to heal. It started with poetry and progressed to prose. Abeera has contributed to more than 200 anthologies and many international magazines such as Raven Cage (Germany), Barcelona Magazine (Spain), Pencraft Literary Magazine (Bangladesh), International Literature Language Journal (USA), Alessandra Today, (Italy) Cultural Reverence WordPress, (India) Orfeu. Al, (Albania), Fatehpur Resolution Blogspot (India) and Poetic Essence Publications (India). Her interview has been published on The Mount Kenya Times and Poetic Essence Publications (India). She has won many titles such as Miss Literary Critic by her university. (University of Lahore, Pakistan). Her inner peace is ignited by reading and traveling. She is serving as a jury member for Maverick Writing Community, India where she helps emerging writers to grow. Her perspective is expanded by diverse poetic exploration. Her passion for learning is endless. She is always looking to learn more beyond boundaries. Abeera’s writing style has touched countless lives. It gives a deep understanding of words and their ability to bring change. She is renowned for healing hearts. May her words help in healing.

Email: abeera.quotes@gmail.com 
Facebook|Instagram: @abeera_quotes

Interview with Dra. Jeannette Eureka Tiburcio

CEO, Global Federation of Leadership and High Intelligence

Mexico

conducted by

EVA Petropoulou Lianou

….

E.pl..Dr. Jeanette Eureka Tiburcio, can you tell us about your childhood and what your dreams were? 

 J E.T.. My childhood was very blessed, with a loving, integrated family, a lover of art, culture, poetry, painting, dance and science. My parents, my sister and my grandmother are my great pillars along with my entire family. My parents fed me poetry.  As a child I daydreamed all the time, constructing stories. I dreamed of being an architect, teacher, writer, dancer, journalist, doing activities that help others and the planet. I dreamed of traveling throughout Mexico and then the world and having great friends with whom I could share tastes and hobbies, and I always dreamed of returning home, to my beloved Mexico with my family, which is my everything. 

Epl . You are president of a very important multicultural association.

Can you introduce those associations?

JE.T..Of course, dear, I am President of the Global Federation of Leadership and High Intelligence, which is an Association that is dedicated to strengthening actions in educational, cultural, literary, scientific and environmental matters in 145 countries, developing various festivals, book fairs, events. , meetings, recognitions, etc. At the same time, I am President of the World Academy of Literature, History, Art and Culture as well as the UNAccc Mexico and Latin America.

Epl . Do you consider yourself a poet, author or architect?

J.E.T. .I consider myself a creative being with infinite possibilities, and being a poet is a necessity, just like breathing.

Epl. When you start writing, what is your inspiration?

JET  I am inspired by everything that I experience.

Epl. Tell us about your new book.

J.ET. My latest book: Who threw my heart into the fire, under the Madrileño publishing label: Huso Editorial, is an invitation to my personal journey, with reflections on the world, my Homeland, my beloved Veracruz, life, the tracing of paths for youth and childhood, identity….about the giving faith, among many other muses…. all interpreted under my eyes and my feelings as a poet, through poetry. 

Epl. Wishes for 2025?

JET   I wish that we can have a more dignity life and safety in earth, that no child goes to sleep hungry, whether physically, intellectually, or spiritually… that health is present in the lives of each and every one, as well as light of expansion, that we can live a life with security, fully and in freedom where we can guarantee a future for those who are by our side, illuminating everything… children and young people mainly.

Thank you so much dear Presidente

Jeanette Eureka Tiburcio

Creation

Weaving the soul of the gaze on the world,

in the quiet embrace of a new day,

thoughts arise, like flowers in the depths,

in a garden of ideas, always in renewal.

With threads of light and dancing shadows,

I weave emotions on a canvas of life,

sewing moments of vibrant hope,

and shards of dream in an infinite plot.

The spirit of art, delicate and strong,

gives voice to the soul, and to the heart that feels,

creating bridges between reality and imagination.

In every verse, in every note,

the hidden beauty rises again,

in the mind, donating to peace

that shapes the world with pure inspiration

The Language is an indissoluble bond

There is a decency and a balance that seals healthy bonds.

Through the similarities, a welding of feelings that resists

to corrosion in time and space

even when we are far away.

Then there is the poet orator

in the quintessence of connections.

A ceramic bowl, flowers in autumn colors, a book for the soul

and occupations to keep traditions unaltered.

Poets from the languages ​​of the world that embrace the Europe of Hope.

We, a Festival of Languages ​​and Poets United for Peace.

BIOGRAPHY

Lidia Popa was born in Romania in the locality of Piatra Șoimului, in the county of Neamț, on 16th April, 1964. She finished her studies in Piatra Neamț, Romania with a high school diploma and other administrative courses, where she worked until she decided to emigrate to Italy.

She has been living for 23 years and worked in Rome as part of the wave of intellectual emigrants since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

She wrote her first poem at her age of 7. She is a poet, essayist, storyteller, recognized in Italy and in other countries for her literary activities. She collaborates with cultural associations, literary cenacles, literary magazines and paper and online publications of Romanian, Italian and international literature. She writes in Romanian, Italian and also in other languages as an exercise in knowledge.

BOOKS

She has published her poems in six books:

in Italy:

1. ” Point different ( to be ) ” – ed. Italian and

2.” In the den of my thoughts ( Dacia ) ” – ed. bilingual Romanian/ Italian AlettiEditore 2016,

3.“ Sky amphora ” – ed. bilingual Romanian/ Italian EdizioniDivinafollia 2017,

in Romania:

4. ” The soul of words” ed. bilingual Romanian/ Albanian Amanda Edit Verlag 2021,

5.” Syntagms with longing for clover ” ed. Romanian, EdituraMinela 2021.

6.” The Voice interior ” LidiaPopa and BakiYmeri ed. bilingual Romanian/Italian, Amanda Edit Verlag 2022.

Her poems featured in more than 50 literary anthologies and literary magazines on line from 2014 to 2023 in Italy, Romania, Spain, Canada, Serbia, Bangladesh, United Kingdom, Liban,USA,etc.

Her poems are translated into Italian, French, English, Spanish, Arabic, German, Bangladesh, Portuguese, Serbian, Urdu, Dari, Tamil, etc.

Her writings are published regularly with some magazines in Romania, Italy and abroad.

She is a promoter of Romanian, Italian and international literature, and is part of the juries of the competitions.

She translates from classical or contemporary authors who strike for the refinement and quality of their verses in the languages: Italian, Romanian, English, Spanish, French, German, stating that “it is just a writing exercise to learn and evolve as a person with love for humanity, for art, poetry and literature “.

SHE IS

*Member of the Italian Federation of Writers (FUIS)

*Honorary member of the International Literary Society Casa PoeticaMagia y Plumas Republic of Colombia,

*Member of Hispanomundial Union of Writers (Union Hispanomundial de Escritores) (UHE) and Thousands Minds For Mexico (MMMEX)

*President UHE and MMMEX Romania, August 21, 2021

*She had come power of attorney Vice-president UHE Romania, Mars18, 2021- August 21, 2021

*President UHE and MMMEX Romania, August 21, 2021

*Counselor from Italy for Suryodaya Literary Foundation Odisha India,

*Director from Italy for Alìanza Cultural Universal (ACU) Argentina

*Member Motivational Strips Oman,a member of numerous other literary groups at the level internationally,

*Director of Poetry and Literature World Vision Board of Directors (PLWV) Bangladesh

*Membership of ANGEENA INTERNATIONAL NON PROFIT ORGANISATION of Canada

International Peace Ambassador of The Daily Global Nation International Independent Newspaper from Dhaka Bangladesh – 2023

*Founder literary group Lido dell’anima with LIDO DELL’ANIMA AWARDS

*Founder LIDO DELL’ANIMA Italian magazine

*Founder SILVAE VERBORUM INTERNATIONAL multilingual magazine

*Founder literary currently #homelesspoetry

etc.

Sometimes

Sometimes you wake up and you find no strength to come out of the bed

Believe me

You are not the only one

Sometimes you see the past.

You see the present

And you just wonder

What have I done all those years 

Believe me 

Many people had the same question

You look yourself in the mirror and you like nothing

But this is a reaction of 90% of people

That is life

We called life

A beautiful miracle

And day and night 

Is coming and go

Go out

See the sun

Have a great day

Walk to the sea

Think positive

You decide if you will be happy or sad

You decide only

Life is for everyone

We don’t have any manual

How to live

How to succeed

We fight everyday

And if we find love in this journey

Then we can consider ourselves as lucky

Keep dreaming

Keep believing

Miracles happens

…….

Peace, 

So expensive

We buy so many weapons

To maintain it

If we pray more

If we were kind to each other

We could say

We have Peace of mind

Poetic heart

Call for meditation

Inside our heart

Peace,

We say a lot

We make nothing

Peace,

Such as a woman

We adore

But few can get

Peace,

A value with no cost

If the humans understand the word…

I wish one day….

Nothing

Nothing belongs to us

We are free

We are the captain of our soul..

Nobody can say this or that  and you must execute

.

Nobody belongs to us

We are choosing according our feelings

Our thoughts

Our beliefs

Our stomach

If  a person make you laugh

The more u want to be with this person

We are nobody

We are nothing

More than the butterfly

Than the bee…

We are no creators but small ants

Or cigals

Or wolves

Show respect

Kindness

But no trust

Trust your instinct

Trust your heart

We are nothing more than a fly

We are nothing more than a bird

Laugh to your heart

Love your inner soul

And put your frequency high

Touch the stars

Make a wish

Stay a happy child

……

Eva Petropoulou-Lianou was born in Xylokastro, Greece. Initially she loved journalism and in 1994 she worked as a journalist for the French newspaper “Le Libre Journal” but her love for Greece won her over and she returned in 2002. She has published books and eBooks: “Me and my other self, my shadow” Saita publications, “Geraldine and the Lake Elf” in English – French, as well as “The Daughter of the Moon”, in the fourth edition, in Greek – English, Oselotos publications. Her work has been included in the Greek Encyclopedia Haris Patsis, p. 300. Her books have been approved by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus, for the Student and Teacher library.

Her new books, “The Fairy of the Amazon, Myrtia “dedicated to Myrto with a disability, and” Lefkadios Hearn, Myths and Stories of the Far East “, illustrated by Sumi-e painter Dina Anastasiadou, will be released in 2019. She recently published her book,” The Adventures of Samurai Nogas san “in English by a publishing company, based in England. She collaborates with the electronic literary magazine The poet magazine. She is a partner with the International Literary Union based in America. She collaborates for the promotion of literature and promotes the work of Greek poets.

Eva is a member of the “Association Alia Mundi Serbia”, the “International Society of Writers and Artists of Greece” and the “Piraeus Society of Letters and Arts” as well as the Corinthian Writers Society, the Greece Association, Mille Minds of Mexico, the International Ambassador of Namaste Magazine, the Advisor and Editor-in-Chief of Web Magazine in Hubei, China, an advisor and editorial board member of Las Olas del Arte in Belgium, the Vice President of the Global Circle Cultural Association in China and Mexico, the founder and editor-in-chief of Acheron Magazine in Greece and Vietnam, and an official 2024 candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. UNESCO Italy and UNESCO Mauritania have awarded her books.