THE WIND THAT KILLS LOVE

The wind rises from distant lands,

carrying cold and fury.

It rushes through valleys, crashes against cliffs,

sweeps across fields where young trees struggle to find their footing.

The weaker ones bend, some break, some are uprooted entirely.

Love is like that tree.

If its soil is not firm, if it is not nurtured with care,

warmed by tenderness, strengthened by trust,

the first storm can shatter it.

People have forgotten that love must be tended.

They have forgotten that a tear can be water,

that a word can be light, that a touch can be shelter.

The winds are growing stronger.

The world is cracking under their force.

Love vanishes in the grip of fear,

in the silence of cold stares, in the emptiness of unspoken thoughts.

And yet, all it takes is a hand to steady the young tree until its roots grow deep.

It is not too late. The wind is just the wind—

unless we give it the power to break us.

Maja Milojković was born in 1975 in Zaječar, Serbia. She is a person to whom from an early age, Leonardo da Vinci’s statement “Painting is poetry that can be seen, and poetry is painting that can be heard” is circulating through the blood. That’s why she started to use feathers and a brush and began to reveal the world and herself to them. As a poet, she is represented in numerous domestic and foreign literary newspapers, anthologies and electronic media, and some of her poems can be found on YouTube. Many of her poems have been translated into English, Hungarian, Bengali and Bulgarian due to the need of foreign readers. She is the recipient of many international awards. “Trees of Desire” is her second collection of poems in preparation, which is preceded by the book of poems “Moon Circle”. She is a member of the International Society of Writers and Artists “Mountain Views” in Montenegro, and she also is a member of the Poetry club “Area Felix” in Serbia.