Poetry from Pat Doyne

FLIM-FLAM MAN

Trump sells his brand: his face, his name, his myth.

While running for President, look what he touts on TV—

Silver coins stamped with a younger Trump face.

Digital Trading Cards showing his weathered old head

spliced to slim, muscular trunks in macho costumes.

Bit coin and crypto.

Bibles and sneakers.

T-shirts, of course, but also a genuine relic:

squares of the suit that he wore in that fateful debate

where he trashed Haitian immigrants, claiming:

In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs.”

Racism’s part of his brand, and his brand’s not cheap.

For $100,000, you can buy a Trump watch—

200 grams of gold, 100 real diamonds;

a timepiece for oldsters who need to feel elite.

Yes, Trump will sell anything. Lies turn a tidy profit.

He’s bought the Republican Party, and many in Congress.

Bailed out by bankruptcies, facing jail-time for convictions,

Trump never pays for his capers, never repents.

He’s running for President, scamming his way back to power.

Should we give a flim-flam man a nation to sell?

	

Poetry from Eva Petropoulou

Light skinned European woman with green eyes and brown hair leaning to the right. She's outside at night near some ferns.

Peace

I like the colour of the nature

Is pink and green and blue

I like the dreams that comes to my sleep

Smiles at children’s faces

I like the creativity that brings me so much happiness

Poems and stories travel like birds

Feel like a child

Feel free

I like the colours of the rainbow

I like the rain

I like the sea

This is the peace for me

People from so many different countries

That became my brother and sister…

…..

A book

A book open his pages

A boy start to read

And heroes come out of the chapter

Weapons start to make a noise

Bombs Was coming down to buildings

School were vanished

The boy start to cry….

Nobody could hear it

They were all occupied to count their small green and blue papers. .

So much paper

So many bombs

So many people occupied from the nothing …

That comes and destroy

Everything…

The boy closed the book…

He took another one

And he starts looking the beautiful illustrations

So Many flowers

And strange fruits

And a lot of animals that were sitting

 just around a big lake.

There was a forest also with big trees

And a big mountain

The chapter had a title:

_The peaceful world of

Olivia_

The boy continued to read

and that afternoon was the most amazing time in the world.. 

Eva Lianou Petropoulou is an awarded author and poet from Greece with more than 25 years in the literary field. She has published more than 10 books.

Her poems are translated into more than 25 languages. She is an official candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Eva Lianou Petropoulou is President of Creativity and Art for Mil Mentes Por Mexico Association representing Greece. She is also a member of international associations of authors and artists in Greece, a member of the Association of Korinthian Authors, a member of the Pirea Association of Authors and Artists, and an ambassador of Namaste Magazine in India.

Her work The Adventures of Samurai Nogasika San has been translated into English, Spanish, and Mandarin.

Poetry from Maja Milojkovic

Younger middle aged white woman with long blonde hair, glasses, and a green top and floral scarf and necklace.
Maja Milojkovic

When the Blessing Arrives, You Close Your Eyes

When God gifts you pearls,

you bury them in the forest,

so as not to witness the radiance of beauty.

You scoop up sand in your palms,

letting it slip through the gaps between your fingers.

You believe that forced renunciation is the strength

you’ll gain through prayer.

Perhaps destiny writes history,

but you do not know how to read the language of Angels.

You subtly admire souls, and tomorrow,

you weep in solitude,

unaware that balance in life is crucial,

for it is from euphoria that one falls into depression.

I only observe you, seeing that you refuse to face the truth.

When blessings come again,

open your eyes and do not close them.

Maja Milojković was born in 1975 in Zaječar, Serbia. She is a person to whom from an early age, Leonardo da Vinci’s statement “Painting is poetry that can be seen, and poetry is painting that can be heard” is circulating through the blood. That’s why she started to use feathers and a brush and began to reveal the world and herself to them. As a poet, she is represented in numerous domestic and foreign literary newspapers, anthologies and electronic media, and some of her poems can be found on YouTube. Many of her poems have been translated into English, Hungarian, Bengali and Bulgarian due to the need of foreign readers. She is the recipient of many international awards. “Trees of Desire” is her second collection of poems in preparation, which is preceded by the book of poems “Moon Circle”. She is a member of the International Society of Writers and Artists “Mountain Views” in Montenegro, and she also is a member of the Poetry club “Area Felix” in Serbia.

Essay from Dr. Jernail S. Anand

Older seated South Asian man in a purple turban and purple suit.

WORLD PEACE AND THE ANATOMY OF TERROR

“When we have words, why come to swords?” – Anand

Terror is generally assumed to be a sect which writes the word  ‘world’ in fire and treats it with bombs. A faith which is practised by a few people who feel they have been maltreated by the majority. It is a way of taking on the world with a fiery might, and force the  world to consider what wrong they have committed. It is giving the civilization a turn to the right by blasting the left side. 

THE SECTOR OF PEACE

There are a large number of  people in the world who really believe in peace and tranquillity. These are the people who have imbibed the essence of their respective religions. Who believe in their job, and in comparative peace which means, living in co-existence. Because the number of such people is far greater than those who want to destabilize the world and destroy it, for their injured merit, world peace has a chance, and it is still a veritable movement. 

Between these two extremes, is a third section of world society, who are not actively engaged in acts of terror, but who also do not believe in a happy world. They do not use bombs, but they take recourse to philosophy, or no philosophy, and these are the people who harbour hatred for peace and good will, and who keep on harping on a world on the boil which they think is the best. They have words charged with high hyperbole which do not inspire, but instigate mindless people to act. They throw words which fall on the world society as bombs. They have no faith in the multi-world that we are living in. 

The reality of the world is that no single sect or religion can claim to possess  ultimate truth. Each religion and each Prophet was right in his own right. He talked of God, of godliness, of goodness and co-existence. But they turned belligerent and took to swords when their followers wanted to multiply their power, because power lay in the increasing number of followers.  Then, they fought the unbelievers, vanquished them, and converted them, or the powerful happened to eliminate the less powerful.

This world has been like this.  If not terror, love for violence runs in our arteries. And what really surprises gods is not when we are talking of violence, but they are shaken with disbelief when they see us talking of peace. They know, we are not so much religious as political, and the most religious of us are called ‘statesmen’ in a high flown language.   

I was talking of the third sector in the world population who have a blood stream in which violence remains at the subterranean level, and surfaces very rarely yet, there is no possibility it can be eliminated altogether. These are the people who are the real leaders of the terror-mongers in the world. These are the people who phrase words and sentences in such a way, that they appear to be talking of peace, but actually, they end up stoking fires of distrust and mutual acrimony. They throw words, which the front runners, turn into bombs. In fact, the these are the people who justify what the real terror groups are doing. They are not spreading hatred. They are acting it out. They do not spread the idea of killings. They actually inflict killings.

They are the end-users of the ideas of ultimate acrimony between nations, groups and individuals. We should not forget that no action is self-created, or complete in itself. Every action is rooted in society. There are a huge majority of people who support what they are doing. If the entire world enounces terror, it would be finished in no time. The problem with the world is there are huge chunks of people, the third sector, as I mentioned above, who utter such words and phrases and coin slogans, which boil the blood of the trigger-happy youth. Add to it the religious massage, of their minds, which tells them, they are acting at the behest of gods. 

THE INTELLECTUAL CORE 

The most dangerous segment of terror is not those who inflict it, they are not many, and the world governments are capable of keeping them contained and constrained. That is why, terror activities are few and far between. But what is constantly happening is the role of third sector of society which keeps the pot boiling.

They are dignified members of social groups, mostly politically empowered and religiously well placed. They are the conduits of the killer philosophies. They are in every religion, in every society, and every sect, and their voice carries weight. If we want to fight terror, we should understand that bombs and swords are not terror. Nor the hands that throw grenades. The real terrorists are those who make these hands move, and these minds astir with base passions and dingy dreams of blood and gore. Gods have nothing to do with such acts. They do not patronise anyone who sets out to kill people or devastate homes. Those who organize mass killings are people who have lost their way. And, the real people who are responsible for this trade of terror are those who direct their steps, who tell the way, and who call it officially correct. Rather than religious, terror is a political game, and the philosophers of terror use the lesser mortals as cat’s paw.

To combat terror, strong arm methods of prevention are already in position. But I think they need to be disabled at the philosophical level also. We need a movement that believes in transforming the extreme philosophies to look at things more rationally so that the precious lives of those who are killed in encounters could be saved. When we have words, why come to swords? 

Author: Dr. Jernail Singh Anand, President of the International Academy of Ethics, is the author of 167 books in English poetry, fiction, non-fiction, philosophy, and spirituality. He was awarded Charter of Morava, the great Award by Serbian Writers Association, Belgrade, and his name was engraved on the Poets’ Rock in Serbia. The Academy of Arts and philosophical Sciences of Bari  [Italy] honored him with the award of  Seneca Award Laudis Charta. Recently, he was awarded Doctor of Philosophy [Honoris Causa] by the University of Engg and Management, Jaipur. Recently, he organized an International Conference on Contemporary Ethics at Chandigarh. His most phenomenal book is Lustus:The Prince of Darkness [first epic of the Mahkaal Trilogy]. [Email: anandjs55@yahoo.com Mobile: 919876652401[Whatsapp] [ethicsacademy.co.in]Link Bibliography:https://atunispoetry.com/2023/12/08/indian-author-dr-jernail-s-anand-honoured-at-the-60th-belgrade-international-meeting-of-writers/https://sites.google.com/view/bibliography-dr-jernal-singh/home

Poetry from Nodira Jorayeva

Young teen Central Asian girl with long dark hair and a white necklace and black top and white skirt holding a certificate. An older middle aged woman, likely a teacher, in a black dress and light colored jacket, presents it to her. They're in a classroom with awards in a wooden case behind them.
MY COUNTRY

He took the purple color from the blood of the martyrs and created chaman in the chest of this land.
Infatuated with your incomparable beauty, I love you as my admiration, Motherland.

Hokingta is a mixture of grandfathers' love, a song that is engraved in the hearts of mothers.
Your arms are as warm as my mother's arms,
I love you, my country.

You are the propeller that spins in Tegram,
May your child rest in peace. You caress my head, brave yourself,
I love you as my power, Motherland.

Your body is full of enthusiasm, and your eyes are always refreshed.
Excitement in my heart, wonder in my eyes,
I love you as my paradise, Motherland.


Nodira Jorayeva is a 3rd-year student of Bukhara Engineering-Technology Institute, Faculty of Technological Process Management Systems, Department of Information Systems and Technologies.
Born on March 15, 2002 in Jondor district of Bukhara region.
He graduated from the 29th general secondary school of Zhondor District, Bukhara Province.

During his school years, he stood out among his peers as an initiative, demanding and creative student. He graduated from school with excellent grades. "My contribution to the development of the country" in the district stage of the competition of creative works of the project "Great children of my motherland." Creative works published in periodicals. "first-class diploma in the nomination, organized by the Faculty of History and Cultural Heritage of Bukhara State University, announced on the official channel of the "Flight Mega Project" and held under the hashtag "Bag and Me" as the "Most In addition to actively participating in the "good video" nomination and getting a high score, he was awarded a second degree diploma by the head of the channel for showing examples of aspiration, at the youth festival held under the slogan "Why do I love Uzbekistan"? The third place in the "Storytelling" category. The first place in the Prose category "Best Story Author" category of the "Green Leaves" online competition held among creative young people, Bukhara Institute of Engineering and Technology "Bahor" came to question you" and won the third place in the poetry evening and many other competitions.

A very creative student who works in prose, poetry, journalism. He is the winner of Zhondor District, Bukhara Region and Republican contests. Party affiliation, National Revival Democratic Party.
He is the author of prose and verse books "DREAM STOP", "TEST OF FATE", "SPRING OF MY HEART". The author of many articles published in "Voice of Zhondor", "Bukhara evening", "Spiritual shock", "Bukhara youth", "Bekajon" newspapers. He was admitted to the Bukhara Institute of Engineering and Technology in 2021!

Poetry from Mesfakus Salahin

South Asian man with reading glasses and red shoulder length hair. He's got a red collared shirt on.
Mesfakus Salahin

You Can’t Love Me

Who can judge me?

Who can measure me?

Nobody either judge and measure me

Or even judge a stone of a fountain

You are limited

But the word ‘I’ is unconditional and unlimited

‘I’ does not mean myself

It is more than myself

A stone is not only a stone

It is more than what you mean

It can speak

But you can’t speak with it

It bears the history and mystery of dream 

It is a observer of time

It can read us

But the new generation won’t read it

The reflection of my face on the mirror is not complete

The mirror can’t reflect wholeness 

It can’t reflect the the inner ‘l’ of ‘l’

Very often I fail to hold me

My body is a holder

It holds something

But what is something is unknown to me and you

You can’t judge me

You can’t measure me

You can’t hold me

You can’t love me.

You love a man who is perfect and pure

I am not perfect and pure

Everyday l walk on the street of mistakes

l embrace with them

I am not the truest flower in the garden

My face doesn’t express everything

I am not large, vast and self-sufficient 

My heart is not more open and free 

It does not bear authentic taste 

It is not more connected and purposeful 

I am smaller than tiny

I am not enough to love you.