Rahand Izadin Ahmad, Kurdistan Spring 2023 Cohort Autumn’s leaves clung to the trees, Their faces pale, afraid of winter. The tired sun of distant days Left no corners to hide, no space for whispers. A dark cloud spread across the sky Be grateful its heart wasn’t broken with sorrow. The bird would have flown, if only he could. But no wind came to lift him. No call, no spark, no reason. He was told: Sing your song, always. One day, it will mean something. So he sang. But the day never came....

Nasar, Future Leaders Graduate At Dudley Hotel, near Clapham Park, I find my haven, my peace, my spark. Through my window framed by time’s gentle hand, I glimpse a world where dreams can expand. I am Nasar, an asylum seeker by fate, From distant shores, I’ve come, bearing weight. Yet, here in this room, with a view so vast, The park reveals stories of a future unmasked. The park gives me everything, in its quiet embrace, A sanctuary of green, a tender, safe place. Morning dew glistens, like...

By Gulsom Gohar What evil has time done to our daughters? Everyone has turned to stone over our lifelessbodies. Behind every matter, there is a woman in the end, and a woman How silently our bones break They have recited hadiths with trickery and deceit. Those who take away our name and reputation One day my voice is a shame, and the next day They attack our thoughts, even our imaginations. It is not at all unlikely that these ignorant people of the century They should issue a fatwa to cut...