Heartaches By The Numbers

 

The End of the Road

My yellow brick road was paved with her promises.

 

A Dickinson Uncouplet

A rant without slant?

Don’t tell me I can't.

 

Night Cruises

Our ships passed at night.

She would pass many others.

I only passed hers.

 

The Rehearsal

When she rehearsed our wedding night

I’m sure it whet their appetite,

helping him rise up for more—

another notch, another score.

 

The Outsider

Perhaps if they’d stopped once they kissed,

I would never have felt that I missed

the delight in her heart

which was blissed from the start

of the joy she found on their first tryst.

 

My Mourning Star

I

still

wonder

where you are,

you who made my dawn

come up like thunder, morning star.

THE SUN

I am the Sun under the ground!

If you do not see me,

With the sun shines – my poems

You will hear me.

I am the Sun under the ground!

The heat of my words

will burn the people.

Who are ashamed for me.

They will not be able to hide

in the back of the eyelash.

I am the Sun under the ground!

I will melt

the ice world of the people.

I am the Sun under the ground!

I will bright

the world of the people

whose insides are dark.

I am the Sun under the ground!

To kill darkness –

it is my profession

every round.

A TALK WITH THE FIREWOOD

The same fire called Love
burned us both.
My sorrow-sister – you, firewood.
You blazed like a tree,
I burned like a man.
Our smoke became one spirit,
(somewhere, fire made peace with water)
From you – a fist of ash remained,
From me – a fist of earth.
Tell me…
which of us burned more beautifully,
firewood?

YOU AND I

I sought the truth-
but you came to me as a gentle lie.

I sought the dawn of hope-
but you came as a trembling “perhaps.”

I sought the joy that sings-
but you came as a quiet consolation.

I sought forever-
but you came as a fleeting lifetime.

And on this wide earth,
I searched for the self
I had once lost in the wind…
and it was you
who stood before me.

POEM WOMAN

Seeing your delicacy,
they compared you
to a flower…

Seeing your mischief,
they compared you
to the wind…

Seeing the tears in your eyes,
they compared you
to the sea…

Seeing your boundless loyalty,
they compared you
to the earth…

But you,
woman,
are a poem created by God.
And I
compare you
to a poem
that soothes my soul.
Your name is Poetry…

You were born like a poem.
Verse by verse, you live.
Syllable by syllable, you weep.
Line by line, you laugh.
With your laughter,
you wipe away
the world’s sorrow.

Sometimes you are joyful like a poem.
Sometimes sorrowful like a poem…
Yet,
woman,
you are eternal like a poem!
Your name is Poetry…

Prof. Phd. Rasmiyya Sabir’s nine books have been published in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Iraq. She is one of the members of the Union of Writers of Azerbaijan and Chuvashistan. At the same time, she is a co-founder of the Union of the World’s Young Turkish Writers. More than 130 poems have been composed by the composers. Her first CD and cassette with the music from her poems was recorded in 2002. Her poems have been translated into many foreign languages, including Turkish, Russian, English, Georgian, Persian, and published in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Sweden, Germany, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and elsewhere. She has been awarded many prizes. The first prize was given to her in the year 2000 in a competition dedicated to Fuzuli. She has been chosen “The person of the literature of the year” by the International Organizations called KIBATEK and VEKTOR. She has translated Modern Azerbaijani poems into Turkish and modern Kazakh and Uzbek poems into the Azerbaijani language.  She has been represented in different poetry festivals in Azerbaijan. She has gained the benefit of the President’s Fund of the Azerbaijan Republic.

THE STONE

It is the awakening of beginnings,

A pulse born from the silence of ages,

The first memory of existence,

And the voice of the question when it emerged from fear.

In the hand of the first human, it became a tool that holds life,

A spark that lights the darkness,

A ember that preserves the body from the cold of annihilation,

And the first line on the cave wall.

It was a home when a home was unknown,

A sky to seek shade beneath,

A ground that bears the tremor of a step,

And a language that speaks without letters.

From it the story was launched,

Upon it the cry was broken,

In its hollows the trace dwelled,

And through it, humans understood the meaning of being.

In all its transformations, it bore witness,

In the grave, a mark,

In the temple, a symbol,

In the crown, glory,

And in sculpture, immortality.

O you,

Silent one who thinks,

Heavy one who speaks with wisdom,

Secret one dwelling at the edge of time.

I AM NOT AN IDOL 

I am not an idol,

nor a silent wall where your voice hides when it fears the void.

I am the breath of the universe when its chest feels tight,

and I am the wound that refuses to become a scar.

I am woman,

not a shadow that follows you wherever you walk,

nor a mirror that polishes your face to see your own glow in it,

but another face of truth,

questioning you when you long for forgetfulness.

I am not a stone that adorns your throne,

I am a wave uprooting silence from its roots,

and a land returning to the seed the whisper of eternity.

You want me as a chain,

but I want you as a journey,

searching with me for a meaning beyond flesh and blood.

I am not an idol,

I am a question dwelling in your eyes,

and an answer written only with the freedom of the soul.

I am woman,

and if you understood me…

if you stood before me without fear and without dominion,

you too would become… human.

A TEST FOR CONSCIENCE 

In the silence of closed homes

The stone bleeds from the heat of bodies,

And the gaze of shadows trembles in the corners of the soul,

As if time itself fears to witness.

The hand that strikes is but an echo,

An echo hiding in the hollows of the heart,

And a letter lost amidst the silence of screams,

A soul learning to live without a voice.

In every wound, a river of questions is born,

And in every tear, the philosophy of existence takes shape:

Is freedom merely a distant dream,

Or a secret hidden in the depths of anguish?

The woman is not merely moving silence,

Nor a stone dwelling between walls,

She is a light slipping through the cracks of pain,

A river flowing despite the chains,

And wisdom that cannot be broken by the striking hand.

Every fracture teaches the stone to dream,

Every tear gives the shadow new colors,

Silence becomes a cry,

Pain opens gates to light,

And resilience births a new horizon for life.

Violence against women is a test of life,

An experiment of human awareness,

A test for conscience,

And where the soul endures,

Light springs from the depths of the stone,

And dignity learns it cannot be killed,

Silence becomes strength,

And freedom echoes in every heart that remained silent,

Until the world understands that true power

Lies in respect, and in enabling the soul

To bloom without limits.

TAGHRID BOU MERHI is a Lebanese-Brazilian poet, journalist, and translator, whose writing carries echoes of multiple cultures and resonates with a deeply human spirit. Born in Lebanon, she currently lives in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, after spending significant periods in various countries, including eight years in Italy and two in Switzerland, where she absorbed the richness of European culture, adding a universal and humanistic dimension to her Arab heritage.

Taghrid writes poetry, prose, articles, stories, and studies in the fields of thought, society, and religion, and is fluent in six languages: Arabic, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. This allows her to move between languages and cultures with the lightness of a butterfly and the depth of a philosopher. Her works are distinguished by a clear poetic imprint even in the most complex subjects, combining aesthetic sensitivity with a reflective vision of existence.

To date, she has published 23 original books and translated 45 works from various languages into Arabic and vice versa. She has contributed to more than 220 Arabic and international anthologies, and her works have been translated into 48 languages, reflecting the global reach of her poetic and humanistic voice.

Taghrid serves as the head of translation departments in more than ten Arabic and international magazines, and she is a key figure in bringing Arabic literature to the world and vice versa, with a poetic sensitivity that preserves the spirit and authenticity of the text.

She is renowned for her refined translations, which carry poetry from one language to another as if rewriting it, earning the trust of leading poets worldwide by translating their works into Arabic, while also bringing Arabic poetry to the world’s languages with beauty and soul equal to the original.

She is also president of Ciesart Lebanon, holds honorary literary positions in international cultural organizations, serves as an international judge in poetry competitions, and actively participates in global literary and cultural festivals. She has received dozens of awards for translation and literary creativity and is today considered one of the most prominent female figures in Arabic literature in the diaspora.

Her passion for writing began at the age of ten, and her first poem was published at the age of twelve in the Lebanese magazine Al-Hurriya, titled The Cause, dedicated to Palestine. Since then, writing has become an inevitable existential path for her, transforming her into a flower of the East that has spread its fragrance in the gardens of the world.

Afternoon

A person’s life is but a walk on an afternoon

from the louvered window where dark clouds roll

to the meadow where sunlight still shines bright

is equivalent to a sleep, dreaming oneself

Huge cloud symbols hang low as the hand of fortune

there is a kind of forgetting that cannot be foretold

its shadow crouches on the roof, panting

sunlight is bright, as if it will never fade

I once searched for pollen on the grass

a strong wind blew from the clouds. When I returned

I found the river under the door had long since gone

hanging beneath Mars

The afternoon, refusing to end, pushes away the setting sun

the house of a lifetime slips from the shoulders

all flowers on the grass have turned black

flesh escapes from the petals

a flower’s life shortens to a single kiss

The afternoon, delaying its upgrowth, tell me

who is it, at the speed of a tower’s shadow leaning

fading away in the act of walking

January 4, 1992

Sunset Glow

When the sunset glow unfurls the whole day

a pillar of unearthed radiance shoots up to the sky

you have a thousand reasons to step into coolness

like a horse, walking toward heaven’s feast

The sunset glow appeared early, first in the lungs

then spread to the face

if it burns, it’s a sick child

pouring out roses of imagination

Unfurl, brilliant sunset glow

you’ve burned for too long

that even the form you drag is rotting

yet link a child’s loneliness to a distant place

Now he lives only by his flaws

possessing more landscapes, but unable to hold any

just as the first sunset glow belongs to another land

allowing a white horse to return whiteness to transparency

January 8, 1992

The Black Tower

The first floor will house a woman of non-being

her long hair upsets flowing water

regaining a ghost in the vacancy of her body

The second floor houses a graceful emperor

who abandoned his throne and glory

to pursue a phantom, an echo

Stones thrown from the third floor

scatter across the snow

walking emptily, to gather on the moon

The spire raised toward eternity

occupies the cold

gathers light, the air grows sharp

In the basement, dogs are kept, and devils too

they crawl filthily on the steps, whimpering

pressure makes the darkness seem solid

January 15, 1992

The Setting Sun

The setting sun displaces the scenery in my heart

like a drowning man, searching for traces of his own passing

the setting sun, dividing dizziness evenly among the day’s clouds

An hour’s setting sun reflects into the living room

guests in feathered robes wear restless faces

their white seats roll down from on high

a winter freight train maintains a calm speed

after slopes and tunnels

the setting sun stretches boundless, a winter freight train

gobbling the distance, excreting

stations, snow-laden yards, the living room beneath clouds

a great fire reddens the clear nerve of a needle

If things transform, the setting sun will be the hinge

when summer’s light and shadow, from bread to book pages, enter humanity directly

all evening, snow falls on the railroad ties

and our thoughts, mixed into the darkness

a life confined by the setting sun—who can still step outside

to see the setting sun without end, snow oozing tears under pressure

the living room collapses when glanced back at, flames blazing inside the body

Let a few summers ripen on our bodies, toil bitterly

we poets, grown wealthy, overflow in the living room

go lie beside the witch next door, then lie cold

easily ended by a single word

The setting suns overlap. Weaving hands never pause—

here we are, the stove warming our bodies, making them weak

when you tire of thought, we are silence

balancing your conversations

we are echoes, easily spoken

an hour’s beauty, reflected by the setting sun into the fire

In unusually calm air, the setting sun slices skin

pointing to griefs of early years

the man who’s been away from home five years returns from the dust

mouth holding tiny spring fish fry, crying like a bird

he lingers long before the door

until another spring, the pond fills once more

January 15, 1992

Butterfly

A butterfly is a sleep longer than a lifetime

it shakes off the material that clings to it

entering another dimension of existence

as brief as the radiance of summer

who is dreaming of the butterfly, never waking in whole lifetime

It makes me think of fallen leaves and snow, the early days of the foliage

of the brave mother beneath the tree

she opened the brass dressing case

waiting for someone’s whole life

Shifting ceaselessly in the mood, the butterfly

carries emptiness within its body

appearing in someone’s dream

it does not dream of anyone

whoever it touches vanishes in mid-flight

like a phantom reclaimed by the mirror

Brief, yet longer than our whole life

when it alights, the dark cry of dust surges up to our fingertips

when it flies along the long plane of a person

the dream it unfolds is darker and deeper than hope

January 15, 1992

Crescent Moon

Before the crescent moon rises, we are in darkness

wordless and awkward

souls are right beside us

yet we have not yet been born

The crescent moon rises, all things smaller and colder

behind the moonlight live some other kinds of petals

they lean down, crossing the boundary

like coffins unaware of which world they belong to

If the crescent moon rises

the flowing water will glimmer with silver light

whoever stores spring branches at this moment

their hope will come to nothing

With honey of many uses

anoint our parts

that graceful climate, the chatter of old age

in the dazzling air that records glory

recall the history of the soul

And on the moon, it is always snowing, snowing stones

ten thousand hectares of dust, not falling for a long time

The moon has risen

the moon regains ghosts in the hollows of the body

the world is darker; we once dwelt on the moon

now none of us survive

January 19, 1992

Word: Bees Fluttering

Bees, fluttering over early autumn grapes

at the fruit stall by the crossroads, like sailors in striped shirts

drunk and staggering, carrying a whole world

pointing out the sweetest cluster for you

As long as bees flutter, this world will never vanish

their frail bodies, storing pollen of the departed

they were once just bees, once seen

on window screens dented by the wind after rain

Stinging autumn’s increasingly transparent skin

childhood is shorter than a moment of pain

who secretly pinches the morning glory’s bell

listening to angry dark clouds roll inside

Who passes noon carrying a world no longer whole

and sees bees fluttering. “Buy some, brother

just picked fresh!” “How much to buy

that swarm of bees on your grapes…”

Bees fluttering. They were once a swarm of bees

later turned into a word, stored in the radio

a monotonous sound. Now it’s bees returning, not the word

but they bring more words: a poem

with nine “bees” inside

January 21, 1992

Ma Yongbo was born in 1964, Ph.D, representative of Chinese avant-garde poetry, and a leading scholar in Anglo-American poetry. He is the founder of polyphonic writing and objectified poetics. He is also the first translator to introduce British and American postmodern poetry into Chinese.

He has published over eighty original works and translations since 1986, including nine poetry collections. He focused on translating and teaching Anglo-American poetry and prose, including the work of Dickinson, Whitman, Stevens, Pound, Amy Lowell, Williams, Ashbery, and Rosanna Warren. He published a complete translation of Moby Dick, which has sold over 600,000 copies. He teaches at Nanjing University of Science and Technology. The Collected Poems of Ma Yongbo (four volumes, Eastern Publishing Centre, 2024) is composed of 1178 poems celebrating 40 years of writing poetry.

Forgiveness

A word that is coming out from the brave heart

I am not asking to forgive as a Human

I am asking to forgive as a God

As HE has the kindness and the generosity to see the human ‘s mistake.

I am asking to forgive not a as a man

But as An Angel that every day and night 

Is traveling from Earth to sky….

I don’t need any paper

Green or blue

I saw  your heart

You had it there in front of me…

I understand that silence

That silver silence

I am damned in sky and earth…

I am just a soul traveling alone..

Seeking for forgiveness

Broken 

We are broken from previous years

We are broken and weak

Do not come with gifts and close mind

We cannot believe words

Because was never said

We are broken

With several wounds

We try to fix ourselves

Love

Is a word

That nobody understad same way

Love

Give

Protect

Understand

Respect

Heal

Rebirth

We are broken

Not ready to move

In this life 

Don’t play with Human hearts

You,

That the face I did not see for years

You

U are the most amazing being

But cannot touch

You,

The beauty is hiding in  small pieces in your body and mind. 

You,

I can explain why

But i know my what

You

That one day u crossed my path

  Forces of love or passion touched me

Without reason

I am looking the east

U are looking the west

Miracles happens every day

You

A passion I can live in a privately moment

Love I give

Love will never be understood

You…

In another space of galaxy

You

My ideal

My secret Garden

You

The moments I never had.. 

You

The distance between  two countries

A bridge i will try to build to reach you.. 

Hearts

Your heart tonight

Touch my heart

Like the first time…

My heart 

Close to your heart

They whisper

They talk like the know each other for years

Your heart tonight

Make love to my soul

A love full of passion

With care

Respect

Your heart tonight

Show to me

The magic moment

Exist

Your heart

Touch my heart

Like a child

Your heart

Has his own

Prophetical knowledge

You are a diamond

But i had to climb

The highest volcano

So i can find you…

BOUND BY GUILT

In front of the cage,

you stood with the key,

holding me still –

„Look what you’ve done to yourself“

you screamed.

You never stopped me from running –

just chained my wrists

with silence and guilt.

You never raised a hand,

yet I wore bruises

like a second skin.

You’d laugh and say,

„So clumsy, love –

you must have tripped again“.

Jovana Lj. Milovanović is a Serbian poet, born on December 10, 2000. She is a member of the Association of Young Artists of Culture. Her poetry collection In the Beginning There Was a Woman is currently in preparation.

LATE LOVE

I loved you—

to forgive,

yet found myself in a place

where forgiveness could not reach.

My hands were not for you,

they opened only in prayer

to stay in love.

I said, when I arrived,

“You will mend my wounds,”

but instead you opened my heart

and turned it into a vast

bleeding sore.

I waited for your balm,

yet you—named my illness:

“Separation,”

and with that name

you hurt me even more…

I saw my dreams in your eyes,

yet to forget them,

I looked at your lips.

First, you conquered my heart,

in the end, I became

a prisoner of your love.

I wept for you—

in every tear, a fragment of affection,

in every sigh, a great truth.

And now—

when I leave, saying,

“I’ll tend my own wounds,”

the hardest blow

is your

“too-late love.”

….

JUDGED MYSELF

I judged myself—

No witnesses,

no lawyer,

no accuser to show the indictment.

Only a mirror…

broken, silent.

I answered

to my innocent guilt—

my answers stretched endlessly.

I did not cry—yet within me

something cracked, shattering.

Words failed on my tongue,

tears ran down my face.

Before me stood I—

yet like a stranger…

Nowhere could I be truly myself.

Only in my own being,

I became everyone.

The questioning marks in my eyes

were wiped away by tears.

In my hand—a notebook,

even the words themselves

refused to write.

I did not write—

Words themselves refused to be penned.

This is no poetic gathering—

it is a trial.

Silence runs in my blood.

Beneath my nails, gathered envy—

gentle as silence,

sharp as pain.

I forgave myself.

I judged myself…

Jakhongir Nomozov is a young poet and journalist from Uzbekistan. He is also a Member of the Union of Journalists of Azerbaijan and the World Young Turkic Writers Union.