Poem - In the Rain, Poetess - Tanja Ajtic, Serbia/Canada

 

 In the Rain

Tanja Ajtic, Serbia/Canada

Water flows over my chest.

In the dance in the rain, I imagine we are together.

My lips are damp, whispering verses.

I am not bitter; the water fills me up.

Living water. The rain touches me.

I smile.

Because love and poetry are the same.

In the rain, you will be on my chest.

Then I will only whisper: let it not stop.

Let the rain not stop.

My lips will touch your damp cheeks 

With the warmth and breath of life from my body. 

With breath and sigh, I breathe and sigh.

The night is deep.

Those sounds when the rain falls

Can reincarnate everything anew.

Renew everything.

Create new life.

Water as the primal element of everything, existence, life.

In my eyes, there is light and I hear magic sounds

That can break the sky.

Only tonight.

Biography of Tanja Ajtić (Serbia / Canada): 

Tanja Ajtic was born in Belgrade, Serbia, where she lived and studied. She graduated from two schools: the Law Bureau Technical School and the Program Organizer and Cultural Arts School, both in Belgrade. She also studied at the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade, majoring in Serbo-Croatian Language and Literature.

Until 2002, she worked as a civil law secretary at the Federal Court of Yugoslavia. Since 2002, she has been living and creating in Vancouver, Canada. In the summer of 2023, she returned to Belgrade, Serbia. She is a member of several literary groups and associations, including the Society of Belgrade Writers.

Her poems and short stories have been published in over 200 books, anthologies, e-books, and magazines. Her works have appeared in numerous languages, including English, Serbian, Chinese, Croatian, Arabic, Bengali, Hindi, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French. She has participated in numerous poetry recitals around the world.

In the spring of 2018, she won an award at the “Pegasus” competition organized by the Literary Youth of Serbia in Belgrade, for the publication of her first poetry collection Outlines of Love. The book was featured at the 2018 Belgrade Book Fair and the 2019 Toronto Book Salon.

She was selected for inclusion in the 2020 Anthology of the 30 Best Writers by the Association of Writers of Australia. In the same year, she won first place for foreign authors in Tuzla Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and second prize from the Serbian Library in London, UK.

Tanja has participated in multiple book fairs with her own book Outlines of Love, and in numerous anthologies alongside other authors.

Notable international awards include:

• First Prize, I International Award of Excellence "Città del Galateo" Antonio de Ferrariis (IX edition, 2022, Rome), in the English poetry category.

• Third World Prize for Excellence, "César Vallejo" 2021, awarded for artistic excellence by the World Spanish Union of Writers (UHE), Lima, Peru, and UHE Mexico.

• Honor Prize at the 2023 Naji Naaman Literary Awards (21st Edition, Lebanon), for her complete literary work. She became an honorary member of Maison Naaman pour la Culture (MNAC). Her poetry was submitted in English, French, and Arabic.

• Third Prize, 2023 “Zheng Nian Cup” Literary Award, organized by the Beijing Mindfulness Literature Museum, China.

She has received numerous awards, diplomas, and certificates both in Serbia and internationally. Tanja currently writes poetry, short stories, haiku, and Gogyoshi poetry, and works as a freelance visual artist. Her graphic artwork has been featured in books, magazines, and art exhibitions.

In the summer of 2024, a bilingual poetry book co-authored with Indian poet Sourav Sarkar was published by Common Literatures Period and made available on Amazon.

She was also featured in 50 Memorable Women of North America, Volume 2 (2024), by Jeanette E. Tiburcio Márquez (Mexico), which celebrates inspiring women and contemporary female figures.

Tanja illustrated the book Living for Love by Sanja D. Radovanović, published by Zlatno Pero, Knjaževac, Serbia. Her artwork has been displayed in joint exhibitions in Vancouver and Serbia, and internationally, both in-person and online.

In December 2022, she held two exhibitions in downtown Vancouver: one at the Outsiders and Others gallery, and the other as part of the PEBCelebrates Live 2022 art show at Roundhouse Mews. She has been interviewed about her art on radio and in magazines in Canada, Greece, and Serbia.

In September 2024, her graphic works were featured in the 22nd International Exhibition Women Painters in Majdanpek, Serbia.

Tanja continues to explore new artistic techniques and is passionate about lifelong learning and creative development.