The garden sleeps in silver frost, Beneath a moon of white, While all the summer leaves are lost To winter’s quiet night.
But see, against the coming cold, A single petal wakes, With stories that are yet untold And paths the spirit takes.
A rose of red in January, Upon the frozen vine, A spark of hope, a sanctuary, Where old and new entwine.
It does not fear the changing year, Or what the winds may bring, It holds the secret, soft and clear: That winter dreams of spring.
So let us bloom like this tonight, Though bitter winds may blow, And find our own internal light Amidst the falling snow.
CLOCK
Fernando José Martínez Alderete, México
The clock is leaning toward the edge of night, A heavy weight of months begins to fade. We stand between the shadow and the light, Beside the ghost of every choice we’ve made. The calendar is thinning, leaf by leaf, Until the final pulse, the final breath, A mixture of our triumph and our grief, Is laid to rest beneath the winter’s wreath.
But look—the dark is not an empty space, It is the soil where tomorrow sleeps. The universe prepares a quiet place For every promise that a spirit keeps. The old year was a teacher, stern and wise, Who taught us how to bend but never break, Who showed us how the sun will always rise, Despite the lonely paths we had to take.
So let the midnight bells begin to chime, To wash the dust from every tired soul. We are the weavers of this fabric, Time, And every broken thread can be made whole. Discard the heavy cloak of ‘what has been,’ The bitter words, the burdens, and the fear. A golden gate is opening within, To welcome in the dawning of the year.
The path ahead is silent, soft, and deep, Unmarked by any footstep but your own. There are a thousand promises to keep, And fields of joy that yet remain unsown. May courage be your compass through the gale, May kindness be the lantern in your hand, For even when the strongest spirits fail, New hope will rise like tides upon the sand.
So here we stand, upon the silver line, With hands outstretched to touch the coming day. The stars above in silent witness shine, As old regrets begin to melt away. Drink deep the air, the morning, and the light, The world is born again, forever new. The sun is climbing high above the night, And all the sky is waiting just for you.
Dr. Fernando Martinez Alderete
Writer, poet, theater actor, radio producer. Born in Leon Guanajuato, Mexico on April 21,1977, President of Mil Mentes Por México in Guanajuato. Dr. HC, global leadership and literature. His poems are published in more than 200 anthologies in fifteen countries around the world and he is the author of ten books, of poetry, short stories and novels.
Crucified on the Pole of Incense and Legends of the East
There is a narrative standing by, eager for your arrival, but darkness quiets the bells of patience. It is sinful when evening falls, the sunset disappears, and a dream remains leaning on the window, mournful, yearning for the allurement of Jasmine
That is desiring thirst, written by the skill of the angels on the patch of light and turns it into a bow to hunt the flocks of coveting. Pain throws me balcony breathes closeness and imaginations.
Nostalgia exists in the instant of a hug Since our last rendezvous, your presence continues to captivate me. Since we last spoke…. you’ve never stopped asking the violets about the enticement of the shirt and the secret of the absence.
Silent Reverie
To embrace my dream in solitude, to rise by oneself to wander solo, no red rose can guarantee hope. I gaze into the mirror, feeling tired My evening holds a buried sorrow, My aspiration is a piece of poetry, My life appears like a faded outfit, set down at the portal of a blind oracle.
No voice to diminish my loneliness, no poem to rise from silence, no rendezvous to stir a wandering thought. While the bonds on your words create a cage, love constitutes a sin, And the letter rests on silent pages… Dismissed, as was my dream.
NASSER ALSHAIKH AHMED is a SAUDI ARABIAN bilingual poet and prose writer. He writes poetry and short stories in Arabic and English. He went to school at Sonoma State University in California, USA. Although his field of study is far from literature, his soul is immersed in poetry and writing.
He is a member of: 1-All Poetry.com 2-Soul Asylum Poetry Radio. New York-USA
Poetry Anthologies 1- Voracious Polyglots-USA 2- The Quilled ink SOUTH AFRICA 3- Wheel song Poetry- UK Online Magazines 1-Polis Magazino- Greece 2-ILA Magazine- USA 3- Grupo de trabajo de escritores ARGENTINA 3- www.youtube.com/c/Uddan Television
He has translated the works of several American, Japanese, and Australian poets from English to Arabic and published his translation in local journals. He has published a poetry book in Arabic ( العرافةara’fa) in 2013 by (Arabian house for science).
He has published an English poetry book (Whispered Vows) August 2023 by (WORLDWIDE PUBLISHER, JEANNETTE TIBURCIO MARQUEZ). He has published an English poetry book as a co-author with an American poetess (KRISTY RAINES FROM CALIFORNIA, USA) on 28th September 2025. He has won the second prize in the Zheng Nian Cup China Literally Award! 2023. He was awarded on 14-10-2023 by the L.A. Seneca International Academic Literary Award from the Italian Academy of Philosophical Arts and Sciences, Bari, Italy. Participated in the International Children’s Literature Forum in Dhaka, Bangladesh in December 2023, Participated in Oman’s International Cultural Festival, April 2024 Participated in the Indian International Literary Meeting Forum in November 2024 in Kolkata West.
When the cold becomes intense and the temperature drops,
to the refuge of home and family… I take down the poncho of gratitude and wrap myself in it.
That poncho is embroidered with memories… that return time and time again.
Thank you, God.
Thank you, life.
For so many winters.
Ramona Yolanda Montiel Writer, Retired Teacher and Social Worker.
Born in Mercedes, Corrientes, Argentina. Living for twenty-five years in Barranqueras, Chaco, Argentina.
Member of several literary groups, including the Together for Letters Working Group. Participant in anthologies, various publications, and activities related to reading and writing.
No one in this world can love you as much as I do. While I love you as much as my life, Don’t see me as one with everyone.
Your place is in my heart, Think deeply before melting, Your destiny’s course is unwavering, Don’t see me as one with everyone.
May my feelings not be hurt, May my respects not diminish, May my anxieties not grow, Don’t see me as one with everyone.
Don’t you know, my delicate lover? There are a thousand eager lovers, one lover, The vast world is too small for my heart, Don’t see me as one with everyone.
Don’t tell me what to do; from your troubles, The bird of your soul flies away from its homeland, You will mourn after you, Don’t see me as one with everyone.
A Few Words About Myself
I was born in the Gelendost district of Isparta province and retired from a tax office. I started writing poetry when I was 13 or 14. I love reading and writing. I believe poetry is the most national of literary forms. I believe that even the most beautiful translation cannot achieve the beauty of the language in which the poem was written. Every poem is beautiful in the language it was written. Every poem is a secret of the poet. My poems contain small messages for those who enjoy reading between the lines.
POETRY IS THE POET’S HEART MARK AND THE SECRET OF THE HEART. Where emotion alone dominates, reason fades, yet without a measure of reason, there is no art. A poet stands on that knife-edge between dreams and reality. The greatest danger for a poet is liking every poem he writes, finding every poem perfect. Such a poet cannot endure hardship to achieve better.
Özcan İşler
Kilitli Kırk Kapı Kalbim Bir gidecek bir gelecek, Gelen geçen hanı değil. Herkes haddini bilecek, Kilitli, kırk kapı kalbim. Ne umut ne can öğütür, Ne mavi boncuk dağıtır, Son sözü aklına getir, Kilitli, kırk kapı kalbim. Sevince ateşe atmam, Verilen sözü unutmam, Uzanan her eli tutmam, Kilitli, kırk kapı kalbim. Ne sen yorul ne beni yor, Bilene sor, duyana sor, Girmesi zor, çıkması zor, Kilitli, kırk kapı kalbim. Sevilen sevgiden bıkmaz, Durduk yere hatır yıkmaz, Her gün biri girip çıkmaz , Kilitli, kırk kapı kalbim. Ölümlüyüz vaktimiz dar, Çok kapı açacak kadar, Ne ömür var ne sabır var, Kilitli, kırk kapı kalbim. Özcan İşler
If they could understand the blessings of Paradise,
Every living being will complete a life.
Some suffer accidents, others have deadlines to meet.
Some are hardened, others are simple.
If death comes, it is permitted.
Every living being will complete a life.
Zeki is a soldier, one of them.
His hair is falling out, his skin is gray.
The Muslim also salutes.
Every living being will complete a life.
My published books are, respectively: Fairy Tales of Şerif Ali, Poems of Isparta, New Children’s Poems, Women, The Ocean of Love, Poems of Atatürk, Fairy Tales of Zekice, Exemplary Emotions, If We Don’t Beat Cancer, It Will Beat Us, Different Poems, Sweet Comments, Goodbye, Cancer, Don’t Forget, Logical Questions, Pearls in My Corner. THIS HOMELAND IS OURS, I WOULD DIE FOR IT, MY TURKEY, PUT YOUR HEART INTO IT, DIVINE WORDS AND THOUGHTS, GOOD HEALTH, STORIES OF PINK DREAMS, STORIES OF MY LIVED MEMORIES. I have around 70 published books. My works are featured in more than 100 anthologies, both in Turkey and internationally. I have many more works ready for publication. God willing, this will continue as long as I live. I am the Provincial Representative of the Türkiye ilesam (Turkey and Isparta) Association in Isparta and Burdur. I am a columnist for the Haber newspaper, president of the Tüm San Association in Isparta and Burdur, and founder of the Zekice House of Culture and Art. God willing, I will continue writing and serving the culture of the Turkic world for as long as I live. Greetings to all writers and readers.
Poet Dr. Kang, Byeong-Cheol is a Korean author and poet, born in Jeju City, South Korea, in 1964. He began writing in 1993, publishing his first short story, “Song of Shuba,” at the age of twenty-nine. He released a collection of short stories in 2005 and has since won eight literature awards and published more than twelve books. From 2009 to 2014, he served as a member of The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International. Additionally, he worked as an editorial writer for JeminIlbo, a newspaper in Jeju City, Korea. He holds a PhD in Political Science and currently serves as the Vice President of The Korean Institute for Peace and Cooperation and vice president of Jeju PEN. Moreover, he holds the position of founding President of the Korean Association of World Literature.
