Fingers Crossed 

I am thankful to the people

Who are committing evil

And getting disgraced 

I also have a storehouse of Evil

Thank God there are some 

Lighthouses of Evil

Whose presence obscures mine

Which I carry in little doses

While the world  believes

In spectacle 

And lionises only those whose 

Evil becomes public.

I am a petty inn keeper

Evil thoughts saunter in 

To spend a night 

And move off in the morning.

I wear great smiles 

Which ward off examination 

And help me pass for a gentleman.

Powers know I am useless 

So, they go for corporates of evil.

Who shine from afar and direct ml

Many a sailing bark of waters 

Where they are darker, denser 

And where chances of boot

Stand out as nearly certain.

Had they not been there

My evil would have come into notice 

Bringing disgrace to me

But see, 

I find evil centralised

In outstanding spaces

Which helps keep 

The general run of humanity 

Comparatively free 

From a sense of guilt.

Whenever a finger is raised,

I point my finger at the Lighthouse 

Making critics keep their fingers crossed.

Dr. Jernail Singh Anand, with an opus of 190 plus books, is Laureate of the Seneca, Charter of Morava, Franz Kafka and Maxim Gorky awards.  His name adorns the Poets’ Rock in Serbia. Anand’s work embodies a rare fusion of creativity, intellect, and moral vision. He is President of the International Academy of Ethics. 

Stacked chairs & a regime change

Shirley Temple once said “I’ve 

led three lives,” a phrase not

to be confused with the story

of the FBI agent who joined 

the communists. Is said that

it was the FBI who funded the

U.S. Communist Party because 

there were so many agents 

signed up — 1500 out of 10,000 

at one point — & because they

were actually employed by the

Feds, they regularly paid their

dues. I can’t find anything Miss

Temple had to say about that.

In vain

I am spending my days — & nights —

either reading books, journals, & news-

papers, or watching free-to-air tv plus

everyone of the streaming services we

subscribe to, searching for an ending 

that I can pilfer. Certainly some of the

things I come across set off a certain 

frisson, but the ancillary requirements

tend to negate them as possibilities. As

example, I do not have five centuries

to get myself into the state of being that

is deemed necessary to reach Nirvana.

Meaning I’ll be going to bed hungry 

until the middle of next week at least.

The wars of the Hoecks & the Cabbeljaws

The dead woman appeared un-

harmed. Two young children 

wrapped in plastic were also at 

the home. A recording from the 

driver’s own car was taken into 

protective custody & confirmed 

that the suspect, renowned for 

playing complex women on the 

stage, faces an extortion charge. 

randomized eccentricities

Orbital eccentricities roam the

streets on foggy nights to see 

what the latest fashions displayed 

in shop windows are. But since

Rome wasn’t built in a day, they

are still there the next night, like

cats caught in a blackberry patch.

Late-stage excitation often results.

A line from George Lucas

The term “race records” was coined in 1922.

Policy disputes play on. Energy costs are

a significant concern. It’s my first time in

therapy, & we are very pigeonholed. If you 

don’t fit in that box, then it’s time to flip the

script. Politicians have scapegoated hand-

made artisans for decades. Record labels no

longer view music as a vital creative force 

& offer such shifty deals these days that art-

ists will never be able to make money from 

them. Backing bands are now made to stand, 

remove their headwear, refrain from talking. 

REASON 

Reasons occurs 

Sometimes 

To love 

To come 

To stay 

Sometimes 

To go 

Because 

To make these 

Must why 

is good for you

Perhaps 

Therefore occur reason.

Türkan Ergör, Sociologist, Philosopher, Writer, Poet, Art Photography Model. Türkan Ergör was born 19 March 1975 in the city of Çanakkale, Türkiye. She was selected International “Best Poet 2020”. She was selected International “Best Poet, Author/Writer 2021”. She was selected International “Best Poet, Writer/Author 2022”. She was awarded the FIRST PRIZE FOR THE OUTSTANDING AUTHOR IN 2022. She was awarded the 2023 “Zheng Nian Cup” “National Literary First Prize” by Beijing Awareness Literature Museum. She was awarded the “Certificate of Honor and Appreciation” and “Crimean Badge” by İSMAİL GASPRİNSKİY SCIENCE AND ART ACADEMY. She was awarded the “14k Gold Pen Award” by ESCRITORES SIN FRONTERAS ORGANIZACIÓN INTERNACIONAL.

No

Not everyone can be friends. 

not friends with everyone, 

not all indulgences, 

don’t listen to everything 

don’t accept everything. 

Not to bear all, 

never be silent, 

don’t go everywhere, 

don’t tell everyone everything. 

not to do all the work, 

don’t go against your will. 

don’t take bad, do not think evil, 

don’t give bad, 

not all competitions, 

not all behavior at all, 

don’t waste time. 

Don’t be weak, 

don’t lag behind. 

Amb. Dr. Priyanka Neogi is from Coochbehar. She is an administrative controller of United Nations’ PAF, a librarian, a CEO of Lio Messi International Property & Land Consultancy, international literacy worker, sports & peace promoter, dancer, singer, reciter, live telecaster, writer, editor, researcher, literary journalist, host, beauty queen, international co-ordinator of the Vijay Mission of Community Welfare Foundation of India.

Autumn Arrived 

You arrived like a heavy whisper on the shoulder, 

laden with glass boxes where you keep the sun’s last sighs. 

The air is now a fabric of worn silk, 

unraveling in hands that still seek the warmth of the shade. 

The trees are old men shedding their golden garments, 

leaving their wooden bones exposed to the wind. 

Each falling leaf is a letter without a destination, 

written in amber ink on the paper of life. 

The sky has become a frozen lake from above, 

where stone clouds swim in profound silence. 

And the earth opens its arms like a weary mother, 

embracing what time decided to leave behind. 

In the city’s corners, the cold is a solitary musician, 

playing vaporous melodies on the fogged windows. 

You arrived without knocking, 

to turn each breath into a white cloud that vanishes into infinity.

GRACIELA NOEMI VILLAVERDE is a writer and poet from Concepción del Uruguay (Entre Rios) Argentina, based in Buenos Aires She graduated in letters and is the author of seven books of poetry, awarded several times worldwide. She works as the World Manager of Educational and Social Projects of the Hispanic World Union of Writers and is the UHE World Honorary President of the same institution’s Activa de la Sade, Argentine Society of Writers. She is the Commissioner of Honor in the executive cabinet in the Educational and Social Relations Division of the UNACCC South America – Argentina Chapter.

FOUNTAIN OF DESIRE 

The water gurgle accepts coins 

while wishes are spoken in silence 

through the way of prayer. 

Desires travel at the speed of thought 

to the Universe 

who doesn’t know the word NO. 

I imagined being a butterfly 

Staring at the clear water 

which intoxicated my vigilance 

from shining golden threads. 

I managed to maintain that state of mind, 

but the water mirror brought me back to reality. 

I’ll throw in a coin next time, 

so I don’t forget that I’m just a woman.

Maja Milojković was born in Zaječar and divides her life between Serbia and Denmark. In Serbia, she serves as the deputy editor-in-chief at the publishing house Sfairos in Belgrade. She is also the founder and vice president of the Rtanj and Mesečev Poets’ Circle, which counts 800 members, and the editor-in-chief of the international e-magazine Area Felix, a bilingual Serbian-English publication. She writes literary reviews, and as a poet, she is represented in numerous domestic and international literary magazines, anthologies, and electronic media. Some of her poems are also available on the YouTube platform. Maja Milojković has won many international awards. She is an active member of various associations and organizations advocating for peace in the world, animal protection, and the fight against racism. She is the author of two books: Mesečev krug (Moon Circle) and Drveće Želje (Trees of Desire). She is one of the founders of the first mixed-gender club Area Felix from Zaječar, Serbia, and is currently a member of the same club. She is a member of the literary club Zlatno Pero from Knjaževac, and the association of writers and artists Gorski Vidici from Podgorica, Montenegro.

Light Blooming in the Dark

That day there was no sun,
so I did not step outside.
The whole day slipped away
thinking of something I cannot name.

I kept looking at the sky,
waiting for rain supposed to fall.
The hours passed in expectation—
yet not a single drop descended.

In the hush between light and shadow
old leaves of spring kept falling,
quietly, over and over.
Green did not meet me today either.

There were words to be spoken—
I almost said them,
again and again—
yet they remained unsaid.

Perhaps your sky too
was heavy with clouds.

When all the lights of the world go still,
night arrives, darkness settles.
And in that darkness
I see a blooming light.

In that flood of radiance
I lose myself somewhere.

The rain does not fall,
the sun does not rise exactly—
yet in your light
I am illuminated again and again.

The darkness that surrounds me
is never greater
than the light
you unfold before me.

The rose-petals of dawn unfold in the gentle dance of a dove.

Md. Mahbubul Alam is from Bangladesh. His writer name is Mahbub John in Bangladesh. He is a Senior Teacher (English) of Harimohan Government High School, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh. Chapainawabganj is a district town of Bangladesh. He is an MA in English Literature from Rajshahi College under National University. He has published three books of poems in Bangla. He writes mainly poems but other branches of literature such as prose, article, essay etc. also have been published in national and local newspapers, magazines, little magazines. He has achieved three times the Best Teacher Certificate and Crest in National Education Week in the District Wise Competition in Chapainawabganj District. He has gained many literary awards from home and abroad. His English writings have been published in Synchronized Chaos for seven years.

Once when he was in grade ten in 1990, his Bangla letter was selected as the best one from Deutsche Welle, Germany Radio that broadcast Bangla news for the Banglalee people. And he was given 50 Dutch Mark as his award. They would ask letters from the listeners to the news in Bangla and select one letter for the best one in every month.     

From 17 to 30 September, in 2018 he received a higher training in teaching English language in Kasetsart University of Thailand for secondary level students through a government order from education ministry. 

On 06 November 2015 he achieved Amjad Ali Mondal Medal for his contribution in education field by a development organization in the conference and felicitation function for the honorable personalities at Rajshahi College Auditorium. 

On 30 December 2017 from West Bengal in India he was declared a ‘Literary Charioteer’ in Bangobandhu Literary and World Bango Conference and they awarded him with a Gold Medal in their International Literary Conference and Prize Giving Ceremony.

In 2018, he achieved Prodipto Lirerary Award in Prodipto Literary Conference at Kesorhat, Rajshahi for poems in Bangla literature. He received honorary crest from the administration of Chapainawabganj District Literary Conference and Cultural Function in 2021 and 2022 consecutively. 

His poems have been published in many international online magazines such as Juntos Por las L Raven Cage Zine, and Area Felix.  His poems have been translated and published in Argentine and Serbian, and he participated in many international online cultural meetings.