SEASONAL CONTRAST, A POEM BY SABINA DAROVA

Empty soul...  
Mornings knock over pebbles,  
like dazed doves searching for light.  

At midday,  
the soles burn with hunger  
to shorten the distance  
between who I was  
and what remains.  

In the fog  
I find scraps of old fabric,  
colors I no longer recall—  
a mosaic of bygone time  
thrown by chance on today’s doorstep.  

And then,  
the soul fills.  
From this mosaic, a tree grows.  
The earth recognizes it, trembles,  
slowly whispers the name of its fruit.  

Ah, this mulberry sweetness—  
so close,  
so motherland.  

The soul again on the scale:  
emptied and filled,  
in a winter that never ends.

- SABINA DAROVA
ALBANIA & ITALY

Biography:-
Sabina Darova, creator of the Forum of Women Project, is the recipient of the Ambassador of Peace Award, a councilor at the Provincial Equal Opportunities Council of Asti, and a member of the Board of Directors of AMMI in Turin. For 22 years, she has worked as a cultural mediator for the ASL of Asti, the Municipality, the Court, and local schools. She is also a freelance journalist for three Albanian newspapers and a poet, having published two poetry collections in the Albanian language. She was awarded the Special Prize at the Torino Film Festival during the 12th edition of the Lingua Madre Contest in Italy. She has published two poetry books in Italian: "Skin Light" and "Unfinished, the Sleeve of Winter".