Romania – Borderless

By Mihaela Melnic

An empirical ocean of unmetrical pearls 
rolled and crawled
like a serpentine
fluid of life
from the unconscious
up to the future's nucleus
where millions 
of bifid pens
are now entwined
with planetary algorithms
and dance in a marvelous 
arabesque

alfa - androgynous voices
spring out turning into
liquefied, crystallized hybrid gems 
endlessly 
taking shape and colour

they are meant to startle and soothe
to mesmerize and haunt
like thorny rainbow roses
that never sting
yet they make the spirit 
bleed

Mihaela Melnic, born in Romania, currently lives and writes in Rome, Italy. Her recent work was published at Dissident Voice, Setu, Lothlorien Poetry Journal and Noiqui. Other poems of hers are forthcoming this summer in different venues. Mihaela’s bilingual debut poetry collection Change of Seasons was released in 2018.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

By Vasile Baghiu

Happening

Yesterday, I met poetry
on the stony Loch Long shore,
near Ardpeaton.
The place was empty, and I think
she felt very well as she was: ignored,
neglected, abandoned among the wood pieces
and dry sea wracks.
Though I had suspected for some time
she was not just the kind of a thing written
on a paper sheet,
it was at that moment
I viewed the truth.

The waves looked like real sea;
the breeze, kingfishers,
the insistent wind bringing clouds,
by heaps,
carrying them further away, like in
a movie shown with high speed,
yet other details, not very easy
to be described -
all made me recognize her
from the distance.

I had my camera close at hand, so I took
many photos
thinking to impress my friends later,
as I knew they would not believe my story.

In the evening, when
the images were downloaded,
nothing could be seen
on the monitor.
I resigned then to sadness and insight,
and I confine myself to write here.

Still I am sure I really met
poetry yesterday.

Under Wave

It is as if I were ill sometimes,
feverish, lonely,
abroad.

I do not share myself between
me and my own person.

The world swishes inside;
and the heart,
agreeing secretly with the brain,
makes waves to show I am still alive.

Despite the smile,
I am not on the wave --
quite under it.

Maybe I am in vacation
and try to take advantage of
the good weather.

Striving to be at least
a part of what I will never be,
I dare not venture too deep
but splash a bit with the oars here,
where I suppose the shore is nearby
helping me feel safe.

I Do Not Write
Today I do not write.
I wish I could live a bit more than I do
in normal circumstances.
I put aside all the pencils and papers,
close the computer
and come into the midday sun.
I do not write,
so I go for a walk,
and think of the things
concerning me closely
these days:
the life at home,
and the new British poetry
at “Bloodaxe”
I spent all the last evening.

This morning I sent e-mails
to two persons who
do not get along very well,
hoping they would make up
when seeing
they have a mutual friend in me.

Wordsworth was right: long and solitary
walks are good for inspiration,
but today I do not write.
I feel good, but I would not pretend this
comfortable feeling will infiltrate
my writing too,
in case tomorrow I begin
the story again.

I get a bit more distant from myself
so that I can see me better.
A fit of laughter seizes me.

Today I do not write.

(First appeared in the volume Cât de departe a mers/ How Far Have I Gone, 2008)

Vasile Baghiu (b. 1965) is a Romanian writer, author of eight books of poetry, a collection of short stories and three novels published in his country. He has been awarded a few writers-in-residence grants, in Germany, Austria, Scotland and Switzerland. Some of his works have appeared in translation in magazines and anthologies such as Penmen Review, Magma Poetry, Southern Ocean Review, The Orange Room Review, Stellar Showcase Journal, L.A. Melange, Poetry Can, Banipal, Cordite Poetry Review, The Aalitra Review, Bordertown. Co-author of the poetry collection Transatlantic Crossings: The Constant Language of Poetry, (TJMF Publishing, USA, 2006). Vasile had in the past diverse work experiences as a nurse, including a sanatorium. A psychologist and a teacher now, married, he has a daughter and a son. He currently is working simultaneously on a new novel, a new collection of poems and a non-fiction book.