Poetry from Gustavo Gac-Artigas 

Young white woman with curly blonde hair, blue eyes, and a tank top seated on a couch.

In Memory of Renee Nicole Good 

In memoriam 

Gustavo Gac-Artigas 

Traducción al inglés: Priscilla Gac-Artigas

Hay días en que me avergüenzo de ser hombre, escribí alguna vez

hay días en que me avergüenzo de que el tiempo pareciera detenerse en la infamia

en el miedo 

en el dolor

en la prepotencia

Hay días en que la jauría fue soltada para cazar niños morenos

ay qué haremos

ay qué haremos

y pobre de aquel, 

de aquella 

que intente detener la cacería

las balas de ICE las dirige la ideología

más allá de la nacionalidad

más allá del color de la piel

más allá de la razón humana

las dirige la rabia

el odio

la impunidad

el desprecio por el otro ser humano

ay qué haremos

ay qué haremos

la lista crece

el manto del poder

de la mentira

protege al odio

a la mano asesina

Hay días en que me avergüenzo de ser hombre 

hoy es uno de ellos

in memoriam de Renee Nicole Good

¿in memoriam?

¡NO!

en grito 

para que nunca más

nunca más

callemos frente a las bestias

para que el miedo no nos invada

para que el odio no nos gobierne

no callaremos

enfrentaremos al chacal

eso haremos

eso haremos

Translation by Priscilla Gac-Artigas

….

In Memoriam

There are days when I am ashamed of being a man, I once wrote

there are days when I am ashamed

that time seems to stand still

in infamy

in fear

in pain

in arrogance

There are days when the pack is unleashed

to hunt brown children

oh what shall we do

oh what shall we do

and woe to the one,

to the one

who tries to stop the hunt

ICE bullets are guided by ideology

beyond nationality

beyond skin color

beyond human reason

they are guided by rage

hatred

impunity

contempt for the other human being

oh what shall we do

oh what shall we do

the list keeps growing

the mantle of power

of lies

protects hatred

the murderous hand

There are days when I am ashamed of being a man

today is one of them

in memory of Renee Nicole Good

in memory?

NO!

a cry

so that never again

never again

we remain silent before the beasts

so that fear does not invade us

so that hatred does not rule us

we will not be silent

we will face the jackal

that is what we will do

that is what we will do

..

Poetry from Paul Tristram

Gentle And Tender Understanding

‘How silently the heart pivots on its hinge’

– Jane Hirshfield.

The Merging of Two (Unique) Souls

… Aflame for each other,

both ‘Giving’ 

and ‘Receiving’ equally…

is an (Emotional) Ballet ‘Supreme’.

‘Touch’ is merely

the counterpart to ‘Feeling’

… ‘Kisses’ taste like

‘Forever’… NAILED…

to the ‘Motion’ of that very Moment.

Boxing Day, 2025 Poem

… and the very best Poetry

comes from a simple, 

direct, resounding Truth.

“I love you”

… spoken from

both the Heart and Soul,

has a grumbling,

rumbling… ACHE…

attached to it

… which sounds

like Mountains

realigning foundations,

in readiness for Springtime…

Shut Up, Sebastian!

Trespassers inside the very Heart

of the Problem…

quit revealing Locations.

I’m getting tired

of my own Question Marks

… time for a train track

switch… Countryside

‘Interludes’, like Windows

out from the City I am trapped in.

Becoming Less Of A Decision

‘Fluid Manoeuvres’

without Surrender

… keep that 

hammer falling…

whilst the Furnace

of ‘Inspiration’

is self-feeding,

and drawing down

‘Higher Platforms’.

The choice of

escaping Mundane

… by drunkenness

or CREATIVITY

… is either

pit stop or Progress. 

pester

It’s not mere ‘Indifference’,

you genuinely 

do not Exist in my World.

I’m not even going

to bother ‘Taking Out

The Trash’… I’m Leaving.

You’d love me to ‘Care’…

but I do not ‘Dislike’

you enough for Hostility,

you completely and utterly

‘Disappear’ the very

moment you’re out of view.

Digging A Genuine Hole Deeper

Don’t be lying about a ‘Roar’

… that you haven’t got.

Superficial Charm

isn’t ‘Charisma’…

and Mimic and Pantomime

certainly aren’t TALENT.

Your real ‘Grain’

is going to eventually

rise up to the Surface.

Pretence is for losers…

those who ‘Shine

Brightly’… have found

their (Authentic) ‘Flow’…

and have no Competition

… because they are

Oblivious to all but their ‘Art’.

Thoughts That Dance Before Actualising 

It wasn’t ‘Raining’ when you

left…

which is why I did not

take

it seriously

at first…

but then, I witnessed

you Discarding former

‘Emotions’ 

like Winter clothing,

and change Aura Colours…

your ‘Smile’ is

different…

now that you have 

metamorphosed 

into a 

Abhorration…

I’m a-coming for your

(New) Zest…

with a ‘Spite’ sharper

than your Ice-Cold Rejection.

Poetry from Lan Xin

Young East Asian woman in a long white dress with butterflies and her hair up in a bun standing in front of a large mural full of line drawings.

An Appointment Beneath the Magnolia Tree

By Lan Xin (China)

A thousand years ago

I knelt and prayed before the Buddha:

“Let me meet thee in my fairest hour.”

It was a spring day, magnolias breathing fragrance.

I came, my gown trailing fluttering butterflies,

Eyes soft as rippling autumn waters,

Graceful in every step,

A faint smile playing on my lips.

There thou stoodest beneath the magnolia tree—

Still the gentle, noble gentleman of yore,

Gazing at me, transfixed,

Lost in a trance,

Lost in a dream.

My beloved,

Dost thou recall our pact from that past life?

The sacred oath we swore beneath this very tree?

I stretch out my palm—

A crimson mole bears witness.

For this moment of reunion,

I have waited a thousand years.

Throughout these thousand years,

I wandered through a thousand mountains and rivers,

Until my face bloomed like a white magnolia—

Just to mirror, in the lake of thy heart,

That fleeting glance, that soft smile of yore.

A longing woven through three lifetimes,

At long last, no longer adrift.

This moment—

Is but a dream,

A sweet intoxication.

In dreams,

That thousand-year-long yearning

Turned into one beautiful encounter after another:

Meeting thee, beneath the magnolia tree.

That longing embroidered deep in my heart

Unfolded into an endless, tender rapture.

I wake at the dawn of spring,

As if thou wert right beside my pillow—

Thy scent within reach,

Thy warmth lingering in my palms,

Thy tenderness still imprinted on my brows.

My beloved,

Follow the path from our dreams,

Go find that magnolia tree.

Upon its blooms—lingers my fragrance,

Within its boughs—our hearts reflect each other.

When thou findest it,

I shall come.

Young East Asian woman with her dark hair up in a bun in a dark purple fur coat over a light silk patterned floral dress.

Paradise on Earth – Shangri-La

By Lan Xin (China)

High-dimensional winds gently push open the gate of light above snow-capped peaks

Wooden houses, mirrored by starlight, sink softly into lake waves

Meadows stretch beyond clouds, reaching all the way to the Milky Way’s edge

Gramophones spin, as if carrying time along at a slow, gentle pace

Libraries hold atlases, their pages painted with rivers and mountains

Songs of all ethnic groups drift together across the vast cosmic galaxy

No gunsmoke sears the wings of doves

No strife tears apart the veins of our planet

All living things unfold, blooming into the shape of love—

Different faiths overlap here, weaving a single tapestry of peace

Different languages all speak of the longing for “harmonious coexistence”

Different skin tones gather here, merging into a single warmth

Different ethnic groups weave here, crafting a shared tranquility

Diverse cultures blend closely, like snow-capped mountains with all creation

If you ask, what color is an ideal world?

It is the cosmic light held together by all skin tones

It is the song of peace sung in the same heartbeat by all

It is a tender love letter from Shangri-La to the world

It is a pure paradise bathed in the glow of sun and moon

It is a paradise on Earth lifted by snow-capped peaks

It is a spiritual home that crosses mountains and seas

It is the mystical Eastern land written of by Western pens

It is a Utopian dream where humanity transcends dimensions

It is a beautiful model of boundless coexistence in the world

May the love of the universe flow across every mountain and river on Earth

May every corner of the world mirror the image of Shangri-La

May every face glow with the smile of earthly happiness

May every soul find the Shangri-La—within their hearts

Profile of Lan Xin (Lan Xin Samei)

Lan Xin (Lanxin Samei) is an internationally renowned Chinese-English bilingual writer and translator, the only female inheritor of UNESCO Memory of the World-listed Dongba Culture, Dean of Lanxin Samei Academy and Yulong Wenbi Dongba Culture Academy, and laureate of Premio Letterario Internazionale Francesco Giampietri.

Her works have been translated into English, French, German, Italian and other languages. Her original Lan Xin’s Wisdom Quotations has captivated over 100 million readers at home and abroad, delivering Chinese culture and philosophical wisdom to the world. Widely acclaimed by international media, she has been hailed as the “Ambassador of Universal Love”, “Cultural Envoy Between East and West”, “Epitome of Multicultural Integration” and “Guide for Contemporary Women”, standing as a paradigm for the global dissemination of Chinese culture.

Facebook: Lan Xin

Wechat: lanxin9999

Email:282051089@qq.com

Poetry from James Tian

Young East Asian man in a white coat, red tie, black hair, and reading glasses.

Facing the Sky

The traces she clearly knows,

I may stumble upon by chance.

They need to be covered again,

Most feared—this is a kind of respect.

The wounds she hasn’t fully recognized,

Unintentionally seen by me,

Must remain exposed,

Not feared—this is a kind of impulse.

The purpose is the cycle,

The cycle is the purpose,

I follow the latter more faithfully.

As long as the stars don’t fall,

Let loneliness marry the eyes.

Poetry from Sarvinoz Giyosova

I have got two brothers,

One is dark, one is light.

They are two different worlds,

And I must live with both of them.

I have got two brothers,

One is angry, one is happy.

One urges me to help and share,

The other tells me not to give.

I have got two brothers,

One is satisfied, one is greedy.

The selfish one wants me to murder,

The selfless one wants me to nurture.

When living in such a dilemma, I always have to be awake.

If I tread the dark path, I might lose my way to heaven.

And I spend every day,

Every month, and every year,

Just choosing and following-

Either sunny or rainy.

There is only one of me,

And I must choose between them.

Two brothers, and still

I’m torn between hating and loving.

Don’t think it’s easy

To live on Earth and be wise.

People have two brothers-

Always either dark or light.

… 

Sarvinoz Giyosova, freshman in “Languages Faculty”. 

Poetry from Sandip Saha

No need to worry

In my crescendo of joy travelling Switzerland

East and west coasts of United States of America

Surreal terrains of Norway, voyage in Baltic Sea

Fabulous Finland and many other countries

I captured all marvelous moments this world can offer

Why this glittering fountain does not sustain forever?

The culprit is an inherent fear that is overwhelming

Reminds me after every enjoyment, “This is evanescent”

Soon dark clouds of gloom cover me blind me

I shall have to leave all whatever good I may have

Death will come sooner or later 

Disconnect me cruelly from all achievements.

I find it unbecoming of a god incarnation or prophet

To die in diseases, murdered or drowned

After attaining trance and enlightenment,

They are unable to die with dignity

Choosing calm and peaceful departure from here

Hopelessly in the same way as the common people.

Advaita philosophy declares every human is free

Ignorance like ‘a lion cub in a flock of sheep’

We think ourselves different from the Self

Due to the dirt that blurs our vision, 

In reality, we are parts that form Paramatma

No power can undo this truth.

The accomplishments of material life

Is like the pleasure of swallowing a sweet

There is no need to rush for these

If one wants name and fame

Nothing wrong in it

One must remain determined to go for extinction.

2

Soaked in love

It is so difficult to reach 

To the bottom of her heart

Looks so deceptive

Angry face

Shouting to the top of voice

As though 

Will swallow me

At that very moment.

Curtain falls

The next scene-

I Get up in the morning

Working on my desk

Writing poems is 

My every day habit,

She comes to me silently

With a plateful of fresh fruits.

So beautiful a face she has

Crossed sixty-six years

Suddenly clouds cover

The eternal painter inserts defect,

Eager to remove the faults

She becomes pale

Nothing is working

I run from pillar to post.

Deep in her mind

She stores nectar

Outer layers camouflage

I cannot catch her,

When my love soaks

She appears to be as pearl

Garlands me with a necklace

Purely made out of her soul.

3

Reversal of a polluted river

Yamuna at Delhi 

                         Is turned into

A sewage open 

                        Drain full of froth

The river is vomiting

                        Like a bedridden patient

Infected by the

                        Human virus

Who dumps garbage

                        Organic wastes

Nobody dares

                        To touch its water.

A new government

                        Has come to power

After twenty-seven years

                        Of exile as the opposition

The river is being cleaned

                        Gigantic machines are at work

Day and night 

                        On war footing

River cruises are plying                         

                         Passengers enjoy breeze onboard

The banks are beautified

                         Flowers are smiling in the gardens.

4

Heart melting

Love is floating in the air

Like bubbles filled with colors

Used in celebrating Holi in India

Rich or poor everybody enjoys it

Emotions run high between lovers

Young or old nobody is left behind.

An old man with grey hair and beard

Is sitting with some vegetables

By the side of a road

For some money to meet hunger

Love comes flying to him

In the form of a young police officer.

He tells him to give all those

Spinach, coriander leaves

For which the old man charges him

Only fifty rupees 

The young man’s heart melts

Gives him three hundred fifty instead.

The old man who is hungry for food

But not at all for undue money

Refuses to take so much

The young officer calls himself his son

Requests him not to deprive of serving 

Tears roll down the cheeks.

5

Gruesome government

I deposited my gratuity money in a bank

Retired life, interest from it was important

Suddenly the bank stopped all transactions

The virus of financial scandal engulfed it.

The government intervened to make payment

To ninety-five percent customers

Who were vote bank 

I was left in the lurch.

My fault was I had a large sum of money there

It was blocked for many years without interest

Paying back a paltry amount in initial years thereafter

Keeping the large amounts for payment in final years.

I planned for a tour abroad

Paid the tour operator through the nose

Due to sudden sickness cancelled it

The government did not return GST I paid.

I published a book through a publisher

Paid them high cost of publication

Surprisingly the government charged huge GST

It was my first such book yet to earn royalty.

Sandip Saha won two awards from India, one from USA, was finalist in ‘Origami Poems Project ‘Best of Kindness Contest’, 2020 and Lengthy Poem Contest of Defenestrationism.net, April 2022, both USA, published six poetry collections, 177 poems in 59 journals in six countries- India, USA, UK, Australia, Romania and Mauritius.