Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού
CHOICE
The day generously spills
its miracles
At the door they jostle,
already flushed
Something stabs me
near the heart
As if you were still there
Drowsy thoughts take
their shot of caffeine:
Even today, physics
has not dealt good cards
I know that in your fire
I am always present
Yet it wearies me –
this infinite game of pantomime…
This silence is a cry
across nine mountains –
Everyone has chosen
what they must
LESSONS
The helm of life
at times stern
at others tender in its teaching
offers a chart of symbols
an old compass
and the restless open sea as a classroom
As I sail silently toward the sun
I sense that the most important lessons
are not learned in direct battle with the enemy
but in wakeful solitude
when with inner sight
we discern the signs along the way
and unvail new horizons
MYSTERIES
The day departs
like an unwanted guest
It feels as though I no longer know where I was headed
or why a certain thought obsesses me,
nor where the coming hour will lead me
Truth be told,
I do not even know today’s date
I barely grow familiar with one,
than another arrives –
one digit higher, uninvited,
and everything begins again
What is the purpose of such routine?
We hum in circles
like a hypnotized swarm of worker bees
I picture the globe of the Earth,
and it does not make it any easier
Only then do I realize
how tiny I am,
a microscopic creation
of the most determined sperm cell
and a fertile bearer of life
And so my wonder deepens –
like a masterpiece
of Mother Nature and the Supreme Creator,
long present,
yet still unable to grasp
the mystery of Creation,
the concept of Time
ELUSIVE DREAM
The night gnaws
at golden wool.
Sorrowful fairies
tear the scarf apart.
Lace strings
defy the voice.
Cold sharpens the nerve
toward the elusive dream.
FROM UNWANTED TO UNLOVED
You speak of trivial things
and hide your discontent
with shallow words
All those years of struggle –
each one a package of disappointment
Instead of multiplying sweet memories
only conflict on conflict
rust on metal –
persistent, harmful
without sense or direction
You fear to dig deeper –
nothing will remain
that pleases you
You dive into the endless
seeking reasons
for everything that happens
And again you try –
to understand
and forgive
as long as you can
as far as your soul allows
For you know –
while people and the world exist
kindness will suffer
unvalued
and truth will wander
rejected
TEMPLE OF LOVE
My body is a temple of light
to love its pain
is the pinnacle of love
As the pain deepens
muted
ruthless
and unhealable
I wait
Primal pain
bloody and eternal
incurable
carved into the female being
Patient as a shadow
it affirms the will of nature
by which I was chosen
to be
Woman
GOLDEN RIVERS
The walls are no longer
my refuge
Darkness, humbled,
flees
ashamed before my eyes
Each of its attepts
to reclaim me
is pitiful
Where I once burnt
each of my deaths
upon the pyre of fears and sorrow –
I am no more
Within the nest of love
life shines awake
Rivers flow in golden abundance,
and through my veins
healthy blood surges –
to the vow of the Eternal Day
AFTER THE WARMTH
Outside, the *košava is sweeping
as if it will never cease
The day stretches endlessly, like the Euphrates
I wish I could slip into its warm bloodstream
while I think of you and do not wish to think
Cold is all that remains in the heart
after a love never fully lived
Now the *košava and I
exist within the same emotional shard
ice queens erasing all memories
There is nothing good in remembrance
when love comes with an expiry date
and yours was merely an illusion
too daring, yet unsteady,
uncertain of itself,
a restless bird
wherever it may land
At times I think
I am the same
Perhaps our likeness tangled the threads
That is why I turn away from thoughts of you
because the *košava would blow inside me forever
and that pain is unbearable
for once, you were all my warmth
*Košava is a strong, cold, and persistent southeastern wind typical of Serbia. It often blows for several days, especially in autumn and winter, and is commonly associated with restlessness, inner tension, and emotional unease in local cultural and poetic contexts.
MANIFESTO OF HUMAN NOBILITY
Let all humans live their lives
In gratitude and compassion,
In universal human virtues and values
Let us create one dignified global nation
No human was ever born
To rule or misuse another human
Nor should anyone be allowed
To behave in such a destructive manner
We are all here to praise each other
To support, to develop, and discover
Our sacred purpose on planet Earth
We are not here to kill or to hurt
Still, some individuals do just that
Their actions bear witness
To their inhuman character and evil spirit
Yet consious humans must never tolerate it
Let us choose the light of wisdom
And become our most intelligent selves
May human kindness and the beauty of love prevail
So that we leave behind the traces of human nobility and brilliance
Milena Pčinjski, MA – Biography
Milena Pčinjski (Милена Пчињски) was born on October 28, 1986, in Prokuplje, Republic of Serbia, and currently resides in Ćuprija. She holds a Master’s degree in English Language and Literature. She is recognized as an international poet who writes in both Serbian and English. Her poetry has been published in numerous collections and anthologies of contemporary Serbian literature, as well as in international and online poetry compilations. Her poems have been translated into English, Bengali, and Macedonian.
She is a member of several book clubs in Serbia and regularly participates in literary events and poetry competitions. In 2025, she published her poetry collection Verses Imprisoned (Заробљени стихови). She works as an online English professor and also serves as a translator and editor for Area Felix, an international Serbian e-magazine dedicated to creative literature and culture. Additionally, she is a proofreader for the Association of Writers – SKOR.
Her collection Verses Imprisoned was awarded the Honorary Silver Diploma by the Orthodox Cultural and Artistic Almanac Arina NN in Nizhny Novgorod in 2025. She is an honorary member of the International Advisory Board of the Academy of Farsala in Greece, as well as of the Global Literary Society, where she received a Certificate of Appreciation for “her excellent contribution to the Global Movement of Positive Literature” from Bhagirath Choudhary, the founder of the organization. She is currently preparing her second poetry collection.
