Doctor, Heal People's Touch, a Poem by Anna Maria Dall'Olio

Months  years 

rapes stains

patient eyes, scratched cheeks, 

broken noses, torn clothes.

Too many hands squeezed our blood

too many feet crushed us to death

our wrath surged like a wave

our anger makes us very relentless.

The best flowers stopped blooming so much.

Horror was deeply rooted in our hearts 

sorrow took deep roots in our scars.

Doctor, heal people’s touch.

Covered with mud

buried with dung

we learnt to hug

we learnt to act. 

We need to move in the clearest sunshine

we want to dance at night in the softest moonlight

we know we can sing only together:

our dance  love song will make us proud.

Anna Maria Dall'Olio was born in 1959 in Pescia (Italy). Graduated in Languages and Literature, glottologist and Esperantist, she has dedicated herself to dramaturgical writing (Esperanto, Italian, English), poetry (Italian, English) and short fiction.  In 2022 he received the special Pro Poet 2022 prize in Serbia with the poem "Bauman for dummies." In 2018 she won the 3rd prize of the FEI International Competition for the translation into Esperanto of On an infected substance by Valerio Magrelli. In 2005 she won the 2nd prize of the Hanojo-via rendevuo International Competition, sponsored by the Vietnamese government, along with many other awards obtained in Italy during his career. She is the author of several books.

[Prepared by Angela Kosta, Executive Director of MIRIADE Magazine, Academic, journalist, writer, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, translator]

Two Poems by Kristy Raines

She Expected Too Much Out of Love

In the dark hours of a silent night

She hears only the sound of his breathing

as she drapes her arm around his rising chest

He stirs, from the feel of her touch

and pulls her closer to the warmth of his body

Oh how comforting it is to be so close to him;

To believe that he would always keep her safe;

Or to know that his love is her's only

Never had she felt that secure in any man's arms

or ever trusted fully in forever's

Never does she remember any who were worthy of

a heart that would always be as true as hers

or whose love would be steadfast and eternal

Maybe she was a fool to think these relationships existed...

A man who could love just one, without looking further;

One whose love stayed as passionate as when they first met

She once believed in this kind of love, until she didn't...

But maybe it is just her who expected too much out of love.

©Kristy Raines

□

The Colors I Never Saw

Your heart will always belong to me

Wherever we go makes no difference

as long as we are always walking together.

Love has many colors and are not always red

But my love for you will always be crimson

I will never stop you from doing what you should

because those things are what make you who you are

But as long as you always look at me through love's eyes

you will see the many things that others do not see in me

The sparkle in my eyes for you makes me realize many things

But what it shows me most, are the many colors that I don't see

in myself, and the many colors I never saw in you until now...!

© Kristy Raines

USA 

□

Kristy Raines was born in Oakland California, in the United States of America. She is a Poet, Writer and Advocates for the Rohingya refugees living in Cox's Bazar Bangladesh. Kristy is a former Civil Servant for the United States and later retired from the Medical field. Kristy  has five books which have not yet been published. One with a prominent Poet from India, and four of her own books, which she hopes will publish this year. She  has received many literary awards for her unique style of writing.

Solid Joy, a Poem by Valentina Ciurleo

Champions of the truth

an achievable goal 

as far as possible.

I have been inspecting roots 

for a long time

in the long earth

seeds can speak.

I am just the same

despite the years,

despite the time

A digging life,

in the difficult demand

in the lost dream.

I keep on being fruit 

a solid joy 

is nearby.

- Valentina Ciurleo

Italy 

(Translation in English by Anna Maria Curci)

Valentina Ciurleo was born in Roma (Italia) in 1973 where she lives and works. Hers poems are present in anthologies and literary sites. She writes for the magazine "La Recherche" and currently dedicates himself to photography by associating images and words.

[Prepared Angela Kosta, Executive Director of MIRIADE Magazine, Academic, journalist, writer, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, translator]

ASTRIT LULUSHI, A HERO OF MODERN TIMES : MARIA TERESA LIUZZO

[Astrit Lulushi]

[Maria Teresa Liuzzo] 

Astrit Lulushi, with his precious knowledge and writing, makes us participants in his human, cultural and spiritual experience, through a psychological excavation, after having risen from the underworld. A refined and sensitive author, he leads us through his many writings into an unprecedented world, where words cross the arteries dripping tears and blood, like the rain that falls dancing from the sloping roofs. Astrit Lulushi associates the human with the divine in the perennial struggle between victims and executioners and captures the bright stages of an often tragic path that has the bitter flavor and scent of oleander. The Author mixes myth, past and present with mastery and wisdom, showing us that time is nothing more than a metamorphosis of fragments of unity that follow one another dizzily, in a phantom spiral that only his strength of mind-compass manages to capture and shape into words that become wings in the infinite. (Apeiron). While reading I was fascinated, dragged and conquered by his words which are states of mind that warm the heart more than a ray of sunshine when it pierces the rock; pure feelings that know no shadow of hatred and revenge against the world and society, rather a hand extended as a sign of PEACE. That is his passport that repudiates any sense of violence and prevarication. All this led me to a distant land - which although virtually allowed me to cross borders and barbed wire without suffering any scratches and, to cross and land like a feather on his pierced heart.

In that context of moral, ethical and spiritual cleanliness I was able to see a second St. George fighting with the dragon, and a St. Martin dividing his cloak with the sword to give it to a poor man; but my incredulous and moved gaze could see emerald meadows and flowers unfolding under a rainbow of light - and you have to be dead not to notice it. The words of Astrit Lulushi, for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, are flesh and blood that have crossed the sea of ​​sharks, but also the fires of hell. His mouth chewed salt, his body assimilated the poison of bitter and salty water, during the desert of his "crossing" like Jesus when he crossed the desert with scorpions and hunger as traveling companions. His willpower had wings that didn't burn like Icarus' because they were "spirit". His efforts for a young man who was not at all trained at the time surpassed those of Hercules: God made dawn in his heart and made sure that he reached the "promised land" - where today he lives free and happy. But the work of the true writer never ends because the power of words surpasses that of weapons. His "hunger" is for love and hope, and he fights against social injustices, against suffering, poverty, and in defense of nature, mother of the world and lung of life. These extraordinary qualities make this singular Character, a HERO of modern times who keeps alive the torch of Life suspended between human chaos and divine indulgence. Astrit knows the role of lies on innocence, and the sense of forgiveness and mercy that does not unite men as it should, he senses and recognizes the slow beat of water, the secrets of the body and nature, and manages to "filter" them through life transforming them into art.

Mother Earth, a Poem by Angela Kosta

Scan the sky for Mother Earth 

To find some sunshine 

To have a little breath 

Never feel pain

And through tears quenched her thirst 

Never feel like a stranger

A foreigner in her own country 

Where she was born and raised 

Where he wants to leave the sayings 

The legacies of our ancestors

No wars, no brawls

Like a river flows blood

Water the groaning earth 

She pauses as she enters his breast 

And to eternity it freezes.

Warble the nightingale 

So he rejoices, he flies, he sings

To Peace in complete freedom.

- Angela Kosta 

Albania & Italy 

Angela Kosta was born in Elbasan (Albania) and has lived in Italy since 1995. She is Executive Director by the magazine MIRIADE, translator, essayist, journalist, literary critic, publisher and promoter. She has published 15 books: novels, poems and fairy tales in Albanian, Italian and English. 

The proceeds of his two books in Italy were donated to the non-profit association for research on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and to the Association Daniele Chianelli for scientific research on Leukemia, Tumors and Lymphomas in children and adults. His poetic volume translated by scholar and writer Hasan Nashid, approved by the Bangladeshi Ministry of Culture, will soon be published in Bengali. 

Her publications and translations have been published in various literary magazines and newspapers in several continental and intercontinental countries. Angela Kosta translates and writes articles and interviews for the newspaper "Calabria Live", Saturno magazine, Alessandria Today Magazine, the international magazine "Orfeu:", the newspaper "Nacional", Gazeta Destinacioni, Perqasje Italo - Shqiptare, the magazine "Atunis", she collaborates with the magazines: "International Literature Language Journal (Michigan), Wordsmith International Editorial (Florida), Raven Cage (Germany), Kavya Kishor International Australia & Bangladesh, Sindh Courier (Pakistan), Sada Al Thaqafa (Iraq), Al Masida (Egjypt), etj.  She is co-host in several anthologies in: USA, England, India, Bangladesh, Albania, Russia, Germany, Kosovo, etc. 

Angela Kosta has translated 150 authors into bilingual: Italian - Albanian and vice versa and has promoted over 500 poets in various national and international literary magazines as well as translating the books of poems by 3 Albanian and Kosovar authors. She has also translated the poems of important italian classics, nobelists and many other famous authors. Angela Kosta is Vice President of the South Korea Writers' Association, Vice President of the Tamikio Dooley Writers Choach Organization, Ambassador for Culture and Peace in varius Organization no - profit in: Bangladesh, Poland, Morocco, Canada, Algeria, Egypt, Mexico, Romania, India, etc. She is also a member of the Writers' League (LSHASH) and BSHBSH - Italy, Academy of Arte and Science America (AAA), Greece, Poland, Hungary, Mexico, Romania, Croatia, India. 

In Italy many important newspapers and magazines have written various articles about Angela Kosta and prominent international critics have praised her writing. 

Angela Kosta has been translated and published in 32 foreign languages and foreign countries. In 2024 alone, it has been published in 104 national and international newspapers and magazines, with: poems, articles, interviews, books, reviews, etc. She has received numerous awards from various magazines and newspapers. In 2023, the magazine OBELISK directed by Roland Lushi declared her, among others, the best translator with translations of the Nobelist poet Giosuè Alessandro Giuseppe Carducci, as well as the Moroccan newspaper Akhbar7 proclaimed her the Celbrity Woman for 2023. 

Angela Kosta has been featured as the Person of the Month on the covers of magazines: Elitè Magazine (Liban), International Literature Language Journal, (Michigan), Saturno Magazine (Italy), Wordsmith International Editorial (Florida), Literary Magazine (Barcelona) and Sada Al Thaqafa (Iraq)

Angela Kosta has received the Certification of Doctor Honoris Causa from various universities including: Colombia, Moldova, Yemen, Algeria, Romania, Mexico, India and recently also from the University of Language and Literature in Morocco by Dean Muhammad Blik and Director by the magazine Kavya Kishor International Michael Hislop (Australia)

Two Poems by Nasir Aijaz

NOSTALGIA

I have no nest, no abode, left in my village
The century-old home built by my ancestors
Torrential rains collapsed the dwelling
But, like a bird
I visit my village time and again
Wander the streets and bazaar
The fields and gardens
The canal
Where I used to fly like a bird in my childhood
To have a look at my nest, my abode.
□

3000 NIGHTS

No matter how hard you do it
In some distant terror camps
Imprison my children
Torture them for
Three thousand nights
Like *Laila.
Let the every night for me
Be a long night
Equal to three thousand nights
Of absence of my children
But listen to me!
Every night has to end
There will be the break of day
The fire of freedom is burning
Freedom is inevitable.
Count down has begun
I start counting the dark nights
You count your days
Dark nights will end ultimately
As your days are numbered.

(Laila was a young Palestinian schoolteacher, who gave birth to her son in an Israeli prison where she fought to protect him, survive and maintain hope. A movie 3000 Nights, based on her story was released in 2015. This poem, inspired by Laila’s story, depicts the ordeal of missing persons languishing at torture camps in Pakistan)

Nasir Aijaz, based in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province of Pakistan, is basically a journalist and researcher having spent over 48 years in the field of journalism. He won Gold Medal and another award for best reporting in 1988 and 1989. He has worked in key positions for newspapers and news agencies. He also worked as a TV Anchor for over a decade and conducted some 400 programs. He is author of ten books on history, language, literature, travelogue and biography. One of his books ‘Hur – The Freedom Fighter’, a research work on war against the British colonial forces, also won a prize. Further, he translated a poetry book of Egyptian poet Ashraf Aboul Yazid, into Sindhi language, which was published in Egypt. Besides, he has written around 500 articles in English, Urdu and Sindhi, the native language of Sindh. He is editor of Sindh Courier, an online magazine and represents The AsiaN, an online news service of South Korea. His articles have also been translated in Arabic and Korean languages. Sometimes he writes poems in his native language. Nasir Aijaz is one of the founding members of Korea-based Asia Journalists Association AJA. He has visited some ten Asian countries and attended international seminars.

[Prepared Angela Kosta Executive Director of MIRIADE Magazine, Academic, journalist, writer, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, translator]

ORFEU MAGAZINE PUBLISHED IN USA : POETIC ANTHOLOGY - 2 - "ÇURGON VARGU - THE VERSE WICKED"

ORFEU magazine just published in USA: POETIC ANTHOLOGY - 2 - " ÇURGON VARGU - THE VERSE WICKED", which readers will already have in their hands. This is another meeting with poetry after the publication of the first Poetic Anthology. The publication of this book is the fruit of the initiative and dedication of the Director and Editor-in-Chief of the literary, cultural and artistic magazine "Orfeu", Dibran Fylli in collaboration with the staff, in selecting verses of various authors. 35 poets were presented, 23 of whom from the Albanian diaspora and 12 international poets translated into Albanian by Irma Kurti and Angela Kosta.

ORFEU has long opened its doors to creators from all over the world, enriching the magazine’s pages every day with the presence of new and well-known authors on a national and international scale. As such it is sought and read with pleasure not only by the published authors, but by all those who love poetry. Like an exhibition of colorful artworks, in this poetic compilation a variety of themes, styles, individuality are unfolded by creators with a diverse literary and life baggage, special and unique.

Writing poetry on a piece of paper is not just a matter of passion or hobby. Poetry seeks to penetrate into the darkest depths of the human soul, revealing those feelings, emotions, suffering or struggles, which are not at all easy to decipher or name. Poetry often becomes our inner voice, the best therapy to alleviate pain and suffering, to dissolve longing and nostalgia, which are companions in the literary journey.

The Lebanese poet and philosopher Khalil Gibran on the power of poetry puts it like this: "Poetry is the salvation /after which I crumble /when everything seems to be coming...

The themes that prevail in this Anthology are diverse: Longing for the homeland, love in the universal sense of the word, the desire for peace and quiet, which suddenly transforms into a cry of revolt and despair in this crazy and turbulent time, where the voice of poetry happens not to be heard in a daily day filled with politics, chaos, war and destruction. The verses reflect the poets' free and peaceful spirit in solitude moments of meditation, always seeking strong and autochthonous feelings, seeking a better world away from violence, cruelty and misery. They reveal also the deepest emotions and the most beautiful sensations, joys clad with melancholy, like raindrops that remind you of a distant or lost love. Poems mirror the range of sensations once delicate and strong, beautiful and elusive of the human spirit, in particular the poetic one. Because as the French writer Victor Hugo expresses in his work "The Miserable":

"There is a spectacle greater than the sea, and that is the sky, there is a spectacle bigger than the sky, and that is inwardness of a soul. "

Reading the poems of Anthology you can touch your hand and feel the magic of writing. Poetry does not divide, it unites, inter-tone connecting bridges and communication, overcoming barriers, borders, regardless of language, traditions, habits, thus obtaining a universal character.

The Poetic Anthology "Verse Flows" is evidence of this. Reading the verses seems as if you are traveling to nearby and distant places getting to know creators from different Albanian or emigration, who have left the homeland, without ever leaving it, singing gold and immortalizing memories in their verses. You are also familiar with internationally renowned poets or publishers such as Stanley H. Barkan, Francesca Gallello, Massimo Massa e Maria Grazia Vai and understands that what unites all poets, regardless of location, experience, topics addressed is poetry itself... (By Irma Kurti )

The anthology is sold in: Italy, France, Germany, Holland, USA, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, China, Brazil, Japan, Spain, Canada, Mexico, etc...

Congratulations and success to all national and international authors:

1. Ana Korça

2. Barbara H. Leonhard

3. Bilall Maliqi

4. Bukurie Maloku

5. Brixhilda Dede

6. Dardan Berisha

7. Francesca Gallello 

8. Ganimete Jakupi

9. Gjelina Maçi

10. Halil Xani

11. Hysen Berisha

12. Ildije Xhemali

13. Ismet Krasniqi

14. Ismet Miftari

15. Jyotumaya Thakur 

16. Juli Sono

17. Laura Ficco

18. Llesh Gjoka

19. Majlinda Kryeziu 

20. Maria Grazia Vai

21. Marigona Zekaj 

22. Marisa Ashiku

23. Marjeta Shatro

24. Massimo Massa

25. Meri Bo

26. Mimoza Rexhvelaj

27. Nasir Aijaz

28. Ann Marie Hansraj

29. Sofia Skleida

30. Skënder Lazaj 

31. Stanley H. Barkan

32. Shailesh Gupta Veer

33. Trandafile Molla

34. Ubaidullo Sanginov

35. Vjollca Aliu

https://www.lulu.com/shop/tamikio-l-dooley-and-irma-kurti-and-angela-kosta-and-dibran-fylli/antologija-peotike/paperback/product-jenm7r7.html?q=tamikio+l+dooley&page=1&pageSize=4

By Angela Kosta Executive Director of MIRIADE Magazine, Academic, journalist, writer, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, translator