Light in Adinath 

(In reverence to poet Amitabh Gupta)

In the pure rose, fragrance enchants like casuarina song, 

Welcoming light dwells on the island of living words.

A foolish saint rides a cloud palanquin beneath the Bodhi tree-

‘Amitabh’, veiled in shame, stands between sea and mountain.

Nearby, night jasmine blooms with artisan grace,

Shy aromas whisper poetic awakenings in the dark. 

In the nectar sky, a school of stars gleams-The sun of Adinath grants thirst its eternal breath.

Love flows like Himchari’s waterfall, Inani’s sweetness-

After night, we’ll meet in the city of gold. 

In the secret nor’wester, memories scatter-Time deceives with beauty unknown.

Words shimmer across eternity’s cover of light, 

Tree-shadows inscribe the soul in enchanted sorrow.

NILOY RAFIQ

Born: August 6, 1983

Hometown: Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

Niloy Rafiq began his literary journey in his school years, contributing to the literary pages of local daily newspapers. His voice soon reached national prominence, with poems appearing in leading newspapers and little magazines across Bangladesh. Over time, his work transcended borders: more than a hundred of his poems have been published in international literary journals, magazines, and newspapers.

His poetry has been translated into over thirty languages—including English, Spanish, Swedish,Finnish, Albanian, Macedonian, Serbian, Russian,Ukrainan, German, Italian, Greek, French, Portuguese, Persian, Hebrew, Polish, Arabic, Urdu, and Chinese—testifying to its universal resonance.

Published Works

English Collections (Amazon, Latin America):

1. Sun Leaf 

2. An Incomplete Kiss

3. White Stone (English and French)

4. The Fragrance of Fire (English and ltalian)

Bengali Collections:

1. Bishuddho Bishade Bhasi Ami Rajhans (I Float Like a Swan in Pure Melancholy)

2. Pipasar Paramayu (The Longevity of Thirst)

3. Nona Manusher Mukh (The Face of the Salt People)

4. Agnyato Agun (The Unknown Fire)

5. Ankhi Anka Adinath (The Eyed Adinath) 

6. Momer Prarthonay Nato Matir Sharir (The Earthen Body Bowed in Waxen Prayer)

Niloy Rafiq. The Poet of a New Horizon: a book of review on the poet’s works, written by Poet Professor Gausur Rahman, a renowned literary critique and author of Bangladesh 

Forthcoming Collections: 

1. Nur-er Pathor (Stone of Light)

Queen with an Invisible Crown

You wear no gold crafted by others,

but a diadem woven from the warp of your choices,

where each thread is a boundary you learned to defend,

each glimmer, the truth you no longer conceal.

Your throne does not stand on cold stone,

but on the fertile ground of what you have overcome.

There you reign not with a scepter of command,

but with the serenity of one who knows their own worth.

The court that surrounds you is not measured in multitudes,

but in the respect you cultivate for yourself:

the loyalty to your dreams that no one can extinguish,

the tenderness with which you heal your own wounds,

the dignity that remains upright

even when the wind tries to bend it.

 You are a queen because you have learned to choose yourself,

to place your peace above the applause of others,

to recognize that your kingdom

doesn’t depend on others seeing your brilliance,

but on you being the first to honor it.

Your crown is unseen, but everyone feels it:

it is the grace with which you forgive without losing yourself,

the strength with which you move forward without stepping on anyone,

the quiet certainty that you are worth

more than everything they could give you or take away.

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

Everything Is Fine

You walk around smiling at everyone,

Only you know what you have been through.

They think that everything is fine,

That yours is the most beautiful pattern of life.

Even the one you loved passes by without a care,

There are those who never value your worth.

So they think that everything is fine,

That yours is the most beautiful pattern of life.

Perhaps he has forgotten the vows he once made,

The unfaithful ones who made you cry through the nights.

They think that everything is fine,

That yours is the most beautiful pattern of life.

The fire burning inside you will not go out,

The wounds left behind by you have not yet healed.

They say that everything is fine,

That yours is the most beautiful pattern of life.

Knowingly or unknowingly, we mistook friends for beloved ones,

And failed to notice their betrayal.

Looking into your eyes, they say, “Everything is fine,”

That now your life is at its most beautiful.

Diyorova Zuhra Bobonazar qizi

Silence of salts 

Green greetings from nature flowing endlessly,

Caring tales of daffodils- 

Where love breathed life in the silence of salts,

The revealing petrichor remained in awe, 

Standing face to face in autumnal decor.

Sang the cuckoo of spring within my heart 

The harvest is ripe now-

Salts smiling in loop, 

Fallen time with its golden glow, 

Timeless yet yearning for another life,

And the boat of tranquillity keeps on sailing;

On and on.

Within a Storm

After finishing the chapter

of a French mystery 

he looked for his wife

She was experiencing 

the charm of an early evening

sitting comfortably, petting the dog.

He asked,

“Do you love me?

I ask because in the morning

the moon will be hidden behind a stained blue sky with crying clouds.

Did you hear me?”

I wonder, will it matter?

Does it matter?

He thoughtfully began the next chapter.

Hours later,

When a light rain could be heard,

she asked him,

“Do you love me?

Because at night the stars all become one heartbeat

and you may lose sight of mine.

Will that matter?”

Will that matter?

He finished his drink.

And she put down the remote.

They both smiled the same smile.

That same fading smile 

which remains

though barely was

but remains.

In the bedroom,

the dog found a place near her pillow.

They looked into mirrors that showed the other’s reflection.

Sometimes truth starts a fantasy.

They asked, 

or was it their images 

“Do we love each other?”

Within a storm,

shadows and beauty

become one.

Without illusion, what has mattered?

Philip received his Master of Arts in Psychology from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada. He has published six poetry books, with another forthcoming. Three novels and two plays.He has a column in the magazine Per Niente. He enjoys all things artistic.

CHOICE

The day generously spills

its miracles

At the door they jostle,

already flushed

Something stabs me

near the heart

As if you were still there

Drowsy thoughts take

their shot of caffeine:

Even today, physics

has not dealt good cards

I know that in your fire

I am always present

Yet it wearies me –

this infinite game of pantomime…

This silence is a cry

across nine mountains –

Everyone has chosen

what they must.

Milena Pčinjski, MA – Biography

Milena Pčinjski (Милена Пчињски) was born on October 28, 1986, in Prokuplje, Republic of Serbia, and currently resides in Ćuprija. She holds a Master’s degree in English Language and Literature. She is recognized as an international poet who writes in both Serbian and English. Her poetry has been published in numerous collections and anthologies of contemporary Serbian literature, as well as in international and online poetry compilations. Her poems have been translated into English, Hungarian, Russian, Romanian, Bengali, and Finnish.

She is a member of several book clubs in Serbia and regularly participates in literary events and poetry competitions. In 2025, she published her poetry collection Verses Imprisoned (Заробљени стихови). She works as an online English professor and also serves as a translator and editor for Area Felix, an international Serbian e-magazine dedicated to creative literature and culture. Additionally, she is a proofreader for the Association of Writers –SKOR, where she also serves as the President for the Pomoravlje Region.

Her collection Verses Imprisoned was awarded the Honorary Silver Diploma by the Orthodox Cultural and Artistic Almanac Arina NN in Nizhny Novgorod in 2025.

Milena is an honorary member of the International Advisory Board of the Academy of Farsala in Greece, as well as of the Global Literary Society, where she received a Certificate of Appreciation for „her excellent contribution to the Global Movement of Positive Literature” from Bhagirath Choudhary, the founder of the organization. She is currently preparing her second poetry collection.

THE WORLD THROUGH THE WRITTEN WORD

If we were all to pause for a moment,

write down what we see around us,

in this world, in this day,

in this moment,

words would say so much.

We would write down what we see with our eyes,

what we feel with our heart,

what our soul is telling us

because the soul never lies.

If we were to confess everything

to a sheet of paper,

reveal to it all the secrets we know,

seal it with the trace of our heart,

would we be satisfied with what we read?

Most likely not.

But not because the world isn’t perfect,

because our words and feelings aren’t perfect,

because the paper to which we laid bare our soul

endures all our emotions and views of the world.

Rather, because deep down inside we know

that it can be better,

that our soul can suffer less,

our heart ache less,

the paper with our words can

have greater power,

if only our words

would reach those who look

but do not see,

who listen

but do not hear,

who can

but do not want to.

Our written word has great power

to influence this world,

as long as it is written with the heart,

read with the soul and not just with the eyes,

as long as it lives in our thoughts.

I believe in the power of the written word,

in its strength,

its brilliance, and I do not want everything to be perfect,

I want it to be enough for

a person to recognize themselves in that very word

and to do good.

I want someone to see light, hope, faith

even in my word on paper,

and not to read only with their eyes

but with their heart.

And perhaps, there is still hope

that this world is becoming a better

place to live,

if it is created by those who see not only with their eyes,

but with their soul as well.

And the written word written with the soul is the best creator of the story of a better world.