The Butterfly Effect: A Liberal Arts Anthology

By Ahmed Tahsin Shams

Blank Voices is a platform where you can get stories to share beyond any biases, stories of unsung heroes, stories without a voice, and stories that inspire and transform. In the information age, if stories lose meaning in generalization, statistics, summaries, and the status quo, Blank Voices offers a safe place where speakers feel heard and understood. We welcome the participation of diverse people with diverse and dynamic perspectives through diverse media, be it poetry, paintings, sketches, installation art, live art, audio-visual, photography, and whatnot!
The Butterfly Effect is planned to be an annual anthology of liberal arts, initiated in September 2022 as its baby step. The title refers to the tiniest significance of a motion that can turn out to be the mightiest force to create a cosmic revolution like the Big Bang! To share the voices from multiple disciplines of liberal arts, the book and the website (blankvoices.com) are designed with certain aesthetics.
Therefore, this anthology is divided into four chapters: Verses, Voices, Visions, and Visuals. The first chapter, ‘Verses,’ is the art of poetry where poets take the floor to provide readers with a vibrant and vivid poesie ride! The second chapter, ‘Voices,’ includes any sort of proses like short stories, interviews, letters, reflections, memoirs, anecdotes, travelogues, and so on. The third section, ‘Visions,’ covers experimental media of artwork, painting, installation, crafting, and so on. The final chapter, ‘Visuals,’ exhibits the audiovisual documented stories (in the website) and photo-stories (in this book) of life and love, of toils and joy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781387960729

Book preview

VERSES          VOICES          VISIONS          VISUALS

The Butterfly Effect

Edited by

Ahmed Tahsin Shams

A Liberal Arts Anthology

Volume 1, Issue 1, September 2022

www.blankvoices.com

An Annual Anthology of Liberal Arts

The Butterfly Effect

Volume 1, Issue 1, September 2022

No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored, in a retrieval system,

or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy

or otherwise, without permission of the Editor of the book.

© 2022, Ahmed Tahsin Shams

ISBN: 978-1-387-96072-9

First Edition, September 2022

Published by

Lulu Press Inc. (USA)

627 Davis Drive, Suite 300, Morrisville,

North Carolina (NC) 27560, USA

&

Blank Voices (Bangladesh)

An Imprint of Avant-garde Productions

Distribution Partners

Amazon Books (USA, India)

Bookbaby (USA)

Barnes & Noble Press (USA)

Swadesh Shoilee (Bangladesh)

Editor & Creative Director

Ahmed Tahsin Shams

Assistant Editor

Yeassin Saha Nawaj Salim

Cover Painting

Madhubanti Raya

Design Associate

M H Shimul

Price:

USD 30, GBP 20, CAD 25

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Dedicated to all the voices–heard, unheard.

FOREWORD

Blank Voices is a platform where you can get stories to share beyond any biases, stories of unsung heroes, stories without a voice, stories that inspire and transform. In the age of information, if stories are losing their meaning in generalization, in statistics, in summaries, and in the status quo, Blank Voices wishes to offer a safe place where speakers feel heard and understood. We welcome the participation of diverse people with diverse and dynamic perspectives through diverse media; be it poetry, paintings, sketches, installation art, live art, audio-visual, photography, and whatnot!

The Butterfly Effect is planned to be an annual anthology of liberal arts, initiating from September 2022 as its baby step. The title refers to the tiniest significance of a motion that can turn out to be the mightiest force to create a cosmic revolution like the Big Bang! To share the voices from multiple disciplines of liberal arts, the book and the website (blankvoices.com) are designed with certain aesthetics.

Therefore, this anthology is divided into four chapters: Verses, Voices, Visions, and Visuals. The first chapter, ‘Verses’, is the art of poetry where poets take the floor to provide readers a vibrant and vivid poesie ride! The second chapter, ‘Voices’, includes any sort of proses like short stories, interviews, letters, reflections, memoirs, anecdotes, travelogues, and so on. The third section, ‘Visions’, covers experimental media of artwork, painting, installation, crafting, and so on. The final chapter, ‘Visuals’, exhibits the audiovisual documented stories (in the website) and photo-stories (in this book) of life and love, of toils and joy!

The idea of such an anthology publication came up during the first phase of Covid 19 pandemic in 2020. Farzana Ahmed Julie, Co-Founder and Advisory Editor of Blank Voices, pitched the concept of its birth. Since then, the process has been on sail, and here comes its first flight! Also, I’m grateful to the Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures (CSLC), University of Notre Dame, USA, and its inspiring team, my mentors and colleagues where I literally experienced the beauty of cultural diversity that I attempted to reflect in designing the book.

To give feedback on what kind of ‘voices’ to be shared or to be a contributor in the next anthology, I, Ahmed Tahsin Shams, Editor of this September 2022 issue, welcome our readers and well-wishers to be connected throughout the journey: [e-mail], [e-mail]

Viva La Arts!

Viva La Life!

CONTENT

VERSES

ARGON SHELE (ALBANIA)  I  2-3

A WOMAN  I  THIS TIME

AHMED TANVIR SHAMS (BANGLADESH)  I  4-5

GAZE WITH PLAYFUL GRACE  I  CRUEL LIPS

ALICJA MARIA KUBERSKA (POLAND)  I  6-8

THE NEXT CHANCE  I  THIEF OF DREAMS  I  WOMAN’S BAG

AMINUR RAHMAN (BANGLADESH)  I  9

RUNNY NOSE—TO MY DEAR POEMS

AMRITA SHARMA (INDIA)  I  10-12

A PERFORMANCE  I   COLOR SPECTRUM  I  PRODIGY

CLAUDIA PICCINNO (ITALY)  I  13-15

CRUCIFIED BY SHOULDERS  I  ON THIS NECROLOGY YOU DON'T NEED  I  WHITE FLAG

CONSTANTIN SEVERIN (POLAND)  I  16-17

GIORGIO DE CHIRO

DEBARATI BHATTACHARYYA (INDIA)  I  18-19

NAKED PEARL AT ST ANDREW’S  I   PAINT

EDEN SORIANO (TRINIDAD)  I  20-23

TAKING THE JOURNEY LIKE  I  THE ANCIENT PATH    I  WOMAN

FARZANA AHMED (CANADA)  I  24-26

DESERT SPACES  I  FINDING ABBU  I  IT’S NEVER LIKE IT EVER WAS

GERMAIN DROOGENBROODT (BELGIUM)  I  27-28

BORROWED DAWN  I  UNTIMELY LEAVING

HANNIE ROUWELER (NETHERLANDS)  I  29-32

AFTER THE SOUTHWEST STORM  I  PAPILLON  I  SILENCE THAT FLOWS BETWEEN US  I  WHATEVER IT IS

JULIANA MEHMETI (ALBANIA)  I  33-35

AS MANY TIMES AS…!  I  THE REVIVAL  I  TO SAPPHO

KATIE ANNE JAMIESON (USA)  I  36-43

UNDOING  I  STURDY  I  STAINED LIPS  I  TASTE AND SEE  I  POPPIES IN THE WIND

LEDA GARCIA PÉREZ (COSTA RICA)  I  44-46

HAVING A LOVER WITHOUT HAVING ONE  I  OUR FATHER WHO ART IN BREAD  I  UNFINISHED CROSSWORD

LEE KUEI-SHIEN (TAIWAN)  I  47-51

IN THE DISTANCE  I  MORBIDITY ON THE EARTH  I  TAIWAN INDEPENDENCE  I  VIRUS PANDEMIC  I  WHEN THE MADAGASCAR

ALMOND FALL

MARIA NAJTHEFER POPOV (SERBIA)  I  52-54

IF  I  MY SECRET  I  UNTOUCHABLE

MD. RIFAT AHMED RIYAD (BANGLADESH)  I  55

A RARE DANCE

MD. SAIFUDDIN AL QUADERI (BANGLADESH)  I  56-58

MAHATMA  I  PERCEPTION  I  PEROLISTAN

SIMON ANTOINE (FRANCE)  I  59-61

ERROR  I  THE WAY  I  ONLY

DR. TARANA TURAN RAHIMLI (AZERBAIJAN)  I  62-63

THE POEM THAT I DIDN’T WRITE TO YOU  I  THEY WILL RECOGNIZE ME FROM MY LOVE

YEASSIN SAHA NAWAJ SALIM (BANGLADESH)  I  64-66

BRAND NEW SONG  I  THE CRAZED STRANGER AT ORANGE STREET

VIRGINIA FERNÁNDEZ COLLADO (SPAIN)  I  67

SUMMER

VOICES

ALICJA MARIA KUBERSKA (ALBANIA)  I  69-70

DREAM

ASROR ALLAYAROV (UZBEKISTAN)  I  71-72

TOMBS A AND B

FIROZA BEGUM (BANGLADESH)  I  73

I LEARN TO BE MY OWN HERO

JARIN TASNEEM SHOILEE (BANGLADESH)  I  74-79

BEYOND THE GOLDEN SKYLINE

SYED BADRUL AHSAN (BANGLADESH)  I  80

THE MANY WAYS OF LOVE

AHMED TAHSIN SHAMS (BANGLADESH)  I  81-95

A TALK WITH AVIK GANGOPADHYAY  I A TALK WITH SYED MANZOORUL ISLAM  I  A TALK WITH AZFAR HUSSAIN

VISIONS

MADHUBANTI RAYA (BANGLADESH)  I  97-102

INVADE 1 & 2  I  REBIRTH OF MUSLIN  I  RELATION SERIES  I  STREAM  I  DHARA 1, 2 & 3

RICHARD CROOKS (UNITED KINGDOM)  I  103-104

EARLY MORNING DHAKA  I  THE PILLARS OF THE TEMPLE CAN STAND APART

SAJIA RAHMAN SONDHA (BANGLADESH)  I  105-117

AROTTO OSTITT  I  DESPERATE 1 & 2  I  PRIO NARI  I  THE COLORS OF NEWS (RONGIN SONGBAD)  I  NOROSHUKH  I

HEADLINES 1& 2  I  BORNAKKHOR  I  THIRST FOR THE PEACE 1 & 2  I  SHIKAR 1

H M MORSALIN BIKASH (BANGLADESH)  I  118

BIOLOGICAL HIERARCHY

SIMANTO BARUA (BANGLADESH)  I  119

CAGED

MAELSA JESSY (BANGLADESH)  I  120

3 WISHES

VISUALS

RADI SHAFIQ (BANGLADESH)  I  122-124

DEPRESSION DIARIES

NAZMUL HOSSAIN (BANGLADESH)  I  125-134

CHINTAR SHEKHOR PROKHOR HOK  I  SYMBIOSIS

ALEX ROMARIO (BANGLADESH)  I  135-162

PEACE IS THE BEAUTY OF LIFE  I  NRI-PATHOR (AS HARD AS PEBBLES)

MAHTAB NAFIS (BANGLADESH)  I  163-168

MEMORY BLUES

TOMAL SAMAD (BANGLADESH)  I  169-172

PARIAH BY BORN

MORAD AHAMMAD KHAN (BANGLADESH)  I  173-179

ABSTRACT BY NATURE

SUVENDRA TEWARI (BANGLADESH)  I  180-182

PAST PRESENT FUTURE

VERSES

A WOMAN

Do not expect her to walk

in the cold streets with her scarf over one shoulder

or tap the heels on the silent memories

nor mirroring her image in the shop's window

because her effulgence

is stronger than the sun

that warms the ice transforming it into a candle

touching the marrow of the earth

breaking the myths of winter

that die at the irises, and yet

are resurrected

to embrace the light.

An image that appears at the shine of stars

and with her, the wind extends the hair

to a forest where the deers are sleeping

the tracks of their hooves are printed on the snow

like a magic hidden in lightning

slaves of fate and troubled dance

towards that image

that god himself created

holiness

in the kingdom of every living breath.

Do not expect her to be weakened

because pain walks with her blood

and the blood with the feeling of eternity

like a deity

of the force that lifts gods to their feet

the angels, everyday

understanding the silence

of the turn of centuries

because the life is more than one attempt

that walks through the gates of the rainbow

and opens the doors of life

to the smile of a woman!

THIS TIME

This time

when you hear the rain that falls over the bare trees from a bronze sky

And the rows of ravens all yellow

You ask yourself

Why does only a tree stand tall?

In an empty park, lonely rotting day by day

Why do you care?

Maybe because that reminds you of the time that has passed

And you feel older than ever

Like a lonely bird abandoned when the winter comes

Surviving is the only chance

This time

When your thoughts are lost

And your face shows nothing more than sadness

In pale colors remained