Contributing poet Howard Debs’ work has been included in Chameleon Chimera: An Anthology of Florida Poets, which has just been released by Purple Ink Press, including work by U.S. inaugural poet Richard Blanco and notables such as Geoffrey Philp, Jen Karetnick, David Kirby and many others.

Also, contributor Peter J. Dellolio’s new novel The Confession has just been released from Cyberwit.

The Confession is the first-person account of a serial killer on the evening before his execution.  It is literary fiction, and somewhat similar to Naked Lunch by William Burroughs.  There is suspense in the narrative, as there is some speculation as to whether or not the narrator is really guilty.

Now for this issue: A Literary Snow Globe. As with a real snow globe, we watch delicate bits and pieces of creative thought descend and fall wherever they may on the landscape of our world. Each time we shake the globe and let it settle, each time we read these works, we take away something different and view a unique scene.

Daniel De Culla’s poem glories in the exuberance and diversity of human creative expression.

Salihu Muhammad describes stages in his development as a creative writer.

Ilhomova Mohichehra’s poetry probes the creative potential of liminal dream-states, how emotions and imagination can be strengthened when we approach sleep. Mark Young incorporates color, texture, and text into subconscious, surreal images he calls “geographies.”

Jim Leftwich’s poem incorporates vivid imagery and wordplay, referencing animals, landscapes, and celestial bodies. It also includes philosophical reflections on time, thought, and human experience. Catherine Zickgraf’s work explores time, mercy and judgment, spirituality, and gender. Maja Milojkovic revels in the beauty of the world while acknowledging everything’s impermanence.

Duane Vorhees’ poems explore themes of love, loss, sexual intimacy, nature, and self-discovery. Cheryl Snell’s fictional drabbles look at moments of connection, humor, and tenderness, between humans and each other and other species. Lilian Dipasupil Kunimasa affirms her acceptance of her entire life journey and her acknowledgement of the different parts of her personality and character. Linda Gunther’s short story depicts a woman who finds her identity by finding her calling in life.

Ilhomova Mohichehra ponders the dreary sufferings of life as she stares out at a rainstorm.

Mykyta Ryzhykh’s work offers a glimpse into a complex and troubled inner world through images of childhood, animals, fear, and death. Texas Fontanella’s poem expresses feelings of financial instability, frustration with societal expectations, and a desire for creative and personal freedom. He includes references to pop culture, politics, and literature, often in a fragmented and surreal manner. Mahbub Alam addresses humanity’s potential for great good or great evil and the need to make choices. Sayani Mukherjee speaks to the inner wilds: the vision, beauty, and danger we all carry within us.

Chuck Taylor’s poetry speculates on the nature of chaos, how it does not operate according to a holy book or an algorithm.

Nilufar Anvarova urges everyone to expand their horizons by reading. Kucharova Ugiloy celebrates the power of books and learning to expand one’s worldview.

Numonjonova Shahnozakhon reflects on how wonder and curiosity add color to life. David Sapp approaches outer and inner landscapes as a tourist and explorer, probing an office firing and the idea of his death with the same curiosity as he brings to Rome’s Trevi Fountain. Lawrence Winkler brings a sense of wonder to his trip to the Micronesian island of Pohnpei, exploring the history and culture of the place while witnessing his friends’ mishaps in international business. Santiago Burdon sketches a time and place in his Christmas tale from a rough Italian-American childhood.

Zarshid Qurbonov reads a book out in the grass on a sunny day and reflects on Uzbekistan’s literary heritage.

Farangiz Abduvohidova illuminates the work and life of Uzbek poet and magazine publisher Zulfiyakhanim, highlighting her qualities as a kind human being as well as her writing skill. Murodova Muslima Kadyrovna also honors the legacy of Uzbek woman poet Zulfiyakhanim.

Dilbar Koldoshova Nuraliyevna dreams of becoming a teacher or journalist so as to shape the minds of her fellow Uzbeks towards good. Gulsevar Xojamova highlights the Uzbek Youth Academy’s role in developing the creative potential of many young people.

Ibragimova Rushana outlines various techniques for teaching languages. Aziza Umurzoqova highlights the role of student-directed technology for language learning. Jonpolat Turgunov elucidates the history and value of the Ibrat Farzandlari Project, an online resource for learning foreign languages. Durdona Ibrahimova suggests possible innovative roles for technology and online apps and games in language instruction.

Abdumalikova Mushtariybegim celebrates the Internet but encourages balanced and moderate use of technology.

Fayzullayeva Gulasal outlines technical and financial problems within Uzbekistan’s industrial chemical industry.

Sarvinoz Quramboyeva conveys the daily determination of the Uzbek people to move their society forward. Shodiyeva Mexribon celebrates the hard work, hospitality, and honor of the Uzbek people. Ilhomova Mohichehra praises the kind and hardworking villagers of Uzbekistan. Sitora Otajonova honors the rule of law and social progress and community spirit of her native Uzbekistan. Mahzuna Habibova speaks to her native Uzbekistan as a friend, urging the land to hold onto its freedom and glory.

Farangiz Abduvohidova elucidates the history and culture of Uzbekistan’s Azim Bukhara region as Tuliyeva Sarvinoz describes the Uzbek historical castle monument of Tuproqkala. Ismailov Sanjar describes in detail the shrine of Sa’d Ibn Abu Waqqas in Uzbekistan. Through his photographs of an Afro-Caribbean festival in Boston, Jacques Fleury celebrates the region’s vibrant cultural diaspora while outlining the historical and psychological significance of the Caribbean rara celebrations.

Sarvinoz Tuliyeva recollects her Uzbek childhood: fragrant trees on her street, parents baking bread in the oven, her father crying as she grows up too fast.

Alimbayeva Diana reflects on the constant care and provision of her father for her whole family. Zabuna Abduhakim writes a succinct verse of gratitude for her caring parents. Makhmasalayeva Parizoda Makhmashukurovna praises her father’s selfless love and sacrifice. Sobirjonova Rayhona honors her kind-hearted sister. Diyorbek Maxmudov praises her father’s tender love. Azimjon Toshpulatov’s verse honors the warmth and love of her mother. Ilhomova Mohichehra reflects on how blessed and lucky she is to have loyal and caring family members. Akmalova Zilolakhan Akobirkhan speaks to the consistent love and practical care most people receive from their parents. Faleeha Hassan speaks of children in the winter, nourished and warmed by caring parents. Muhammed Sinan offers up a tribute to the love, dedication, and integrity of his father.

Audrija Paul’s poetry reflects the determined patience of a lover as Jonborieva Muxlisa Rahmon reflects on the value of friendship and what you gain by being a good friend. Norova Zulfizar reflects on a love so joyful and nurturing it reminds her of spring’s flowering and her parents’ care. Mesfakus Salahin employs a variety of poetic images to convey a gentle and kind romance. Sobirjonova Rayhona urges her fellow young people to live happy lives and treat their parents with gratitude and respect.

Nurullayeva Mushtariy illustrates the heartache that comes when the younger generation does not have compassion for their parents. Shahnoza Ochildiyeva remembers how she began to empathize with and befriended some children who were originally annoying bullies, because she realized they lacked the care of loving parents.

J.J. Campbell reflects on having survived decades of broken dreams, troubled relationships, and abandonment. Yet, as he acknowledges, he has survived. Abigail George reflects on love, loss, mental health, family relationships, spirituality, and her artistic dreams in a prose poem formulated as a letter to her niece. Graciela Noemi Villaverde grieves the death of a husband with whom she shared a tender love.

Z.I. Mahmud explores masculinity and romance in D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers and how various social and psychological pressures drive the protagonist away from his fiancees. Eva Lianou Petropolou’s poem, reviewed by Williamsji Maveli, explains how both psychological issues and societal problems such as discrimination and violence against women can interfere with loving relationships.

Kass’ piece explores themes of heartbreak, regret, and the lasting impact of a past relationship. Grant Guy’s poetry reflects on daily routine, loneliness, the lack of intimacy, and loss of identity within some relationships.

Chimezie Ihekuna elucidates the struggles of men in his native Nigeria and elsewhere in the world: being disrespected and viewed only as a source of money in an economy where decent jobs are hard to come by. Maftuna Rustamova also reflects on materialism and the tragedy of reducing human value to money. Don Bormon laments the suffering of the poor out in the cold during winter, while acknowledging the beauty and the harshness of nature during winter months.

Sandro Piedrahita’s short story dramatizes another tragedy, the Pinochet regime’s murder of singer and guitarist Victor Jara. Odera Chidume highlights the effects of war in Nigeria on everyday people through his story of remarkably resilient teenagers.

Vernon Frazer’s poems explore themes of wealth disparity, societal decay, and existentialism, often using vivid imagery and unconventional language. Howard Debs reflects on the human and ecological losses of 2024 and the changes many societies are experiencing.

Before we can fully take stock of 2024, though, there are the December holidays.

Taylor Dibbert recollects an awkward encounter with a stranger as Doug Hawley’s memorable anecdote recounts a Christmas filled with physical and relational peril.

Brian Barbeito’s poem illuminates the beauty of our world and highlights the importance of appreciating nature and loved ones, at the holidays and any time.

Bill Tope’s short story explores human compassion, connection, and perception. Another of his pieces depicts a kindly Jewish shopkeeper whose gift makes some young girls’ Hanukkah very special.

We hope that this issue will be a gift to you, and that as you read, the particles of snow in our literary globe will land in interesting ways that resonate with you.

Book

People say the book

Knowledge, the lamp of the mind.

If someone doesn’t like a book,

Crystal is his motto.

A boy who reads a book

Forget loneliness.

Your secrets of friendship to him,

The book is slow.

Welcome to the book.

They share happiness and joy.

Therefore, the book

They sing with interest.

My life without books

I can’t imagine.

If I don’t read a book,

I do not know the secret of the world.

Changed my life

The themes of this book.

The book really gives,

Wonders of the world.

My advice to my friends,

Read more books.

If you read a lot of books,

You will get a lot of shouts!

A person always lives because of the law,
Even if there is no law, there are few good things.
All feelings will be a mirage,
Blood and wine flowed from the cabbage.
Therefore, a new book was opened,
No-one does anything.
The law is equal for all,
Everyone is fighting.
Now the shadow at the beginning of the country will leave,
Twenty people's bread is baked
And now everyone helps.
Even the rain doesn't turn into puddles.
There is no stain on our country,
Now let the city and the garden flourish
I'll tell you what's in my heart
Let's keep our country alive.

Sitora Otajonova is Sodirjon's daughter. She was born on 20 December in 2005.She is studying at school in 11th class. She is crazy about writing poems and reading books. Her poems and articles are printed international journals.

A memory

 New neighborhood... New life... I was now living on my own streets that I had never even driven through before... Now every tiny thing in these places belonged to me. So I slowly got to know everyone. But there was one thing I could never make friends with... Children who live in a house a few houses away from ours! They were two boys and a girl, and to me they belonged to a group of pirates.

 Every day, when I came home from school, I was worried about these "bullying" children, not about the barking dogs. I passed by that house slowly and silently. Sometimes, when they saw me, they would attack me with their stones or sticks, and I would run away like the wind. All three were much younger than me. But I was afraid. I had a terrible fear in my heart for them. They were always on the street…

One day I saw that landlord-father of the family in a very bad condition on the street. He was drunk and barely able to walk. Later, I heard a lot of bad things from several people. Only after that I started to think that maybe the environment in the family is not good either. How could such a family leader give good attention and love to his children. Then those "robbers" came to my eyes. They were almost always on the street. They played in their own way, they were happy in their own way. I started to like them...

One day I returned from school as usual. They were playing with mud on the street again. I didn't run away this time. I couldn't even think of escaping for some reason. The girl started coming towards me with a ball of clay in her hand. Laughed. I smiled and said "Hello". He ran towards the gate with a strange look on my face. On that day, my heart overcame the fear of those cheerful children and took the first step to make friends with them.

Later I became very close with them. We became sisters. After they went to school, sometimes we returned from school together. Our childish conversations were wonderful and pure.

 After some years, we moved out of the neighborhood and I did not see them again. They are not on the street anymore. Games are also a memory of the past. It is unknown to me... But as a part of that space I loved, they are still in my heart... And, of course, they will be remembered with love and longing.
 
Shahnoza Ochildiyeva
1st year student of the University of Journalism and Mass Communications of Uzbekistan

The ancient fortress in Uzbekistan – Tuproqkala!

The mud fort (I-VI centuries AD) is located a few kilometers south of the Sultan Uwais ridge. This fortress served as the residence of the rulers of Ancient Khorezm in ancient times, before the Afrigid dynasty came to power.  The name of the monument, based on its current position, means a large earthen mound.

The soil castle complex consists of the city, the upper palace and the northern complex.

City – area 500 × 350 m. It is rectangular in shape and surrounded by defense walls 8-9 meters high. In addition, the city has many square towers with flat corners, and the sides are surrounded by a wide moat. The city gate was built in the form of a complex structure, and the width of the city from this gate to the castle is 9 m. passed the central street. Many hearths have been identified in the fire worshipers’ temple.  In another building in the monument, gold-plated bracelets in the form of ram’s horns, glass vessels, fragments of plaster sculptures and other jewelry were found.

Upper palace – the main massif of the truncated pyramid-shaped palace is built of raw brick, and the facade is decorated with a system of vertically protruding patterns. About 100 structures used as ablution rooms and weapons storage rooms have been preserved until now. On the upper floor there was a temple where sacrifices were made for repentance.

The main part of the palace is occupied by a complex of prayer and ceremonial rooms. The walls of the building are decorated with patterns, and the five halls belonging to it are decorated with colorful ceramic bas-reliefs. Few of these ornaments have survived.

In the special sacrificial room “Hall of the Kings” there was a fire burning in front of the images (in the form of statues) of the 23 kings of Khorezm. The “Victory Hall” is decorated with bas-reliefs of kings sitting on thrones and goddesses hovering above them, depicting the ceremony of awarding the royal honor to the sultans. On the shelves of the Hall of Black Warriors were bas-relief images of standing kings. Small statues of black warriors paid homage to the kings by blowing trumpets. The “Deer Hall” was decorated with statues of these animals, and on top of them there were images of griffins. This type of decoration is probably the reason for the sustainability of life in the flora and fauna. The “Masked Dance” hall was intended for showing mysteries (dramas on religious themes), and the images of men and women dancing on the walls of the hall are partially preserved.  On the main shelf, according to its appearance, there was an image of a goddess with a beast. On the other two large shelves, probably, the accompanying deities were placed. In the center of the hall there was a sacrificial platform.

One of the most important finds is the Ancient Khorezm documents. In the manuscripts written on leather, several dates of the arrival of various things and objects are recorded, the oldest of which is 188-252 years of the Khorezm century (beginning of the 1st century AD). In the manuscripts written on the tree, lists of able-bodied men (free and slaves) included in several Khorezms were recorded.

Northern palace complex.  This complex is about 100 km from the city of Tuproq Qala. It is a collection of several buildings with an area of 12 hectares. One of these buildings consists of 50 rooms with colorful murals decorated with large and small rosettes and other flowers on a black and white background, as well as the remains of sculptures depicting the lower leg and dress. Also, coins from the reign of the Kushan rulers Vima-Kadphiz, Khuvishka, a golden head of a lion and alabaster figures for bas-relief were found here.

I Wrote a Poem for My Mother

My mother is my pride,  

My father is my guide.  

All the happiness in the world,  

I wrote a poem for my mother.

My mother is my confidant,  

My mother is my dearest friend.  

Endless patience and strength,  

I wrote a poem for my mother.

Girls with fathers are lucky,  

Girls with mothers are blessed.  

I’m a lucky girl, a blessed girl,  

I wrote a poem for my mother.

I am Zabuna Abduhakim qizi Uralova, born on July 1, 2008, in Chiroqchi district, Qashqadaryo region. I am currently studying in the 10th grade with a specialization in natural sciences at a specialized school in Chiroqchi district. I hold several international certificates and serve as the EVH coordinator for Nishon district, Qashqadaryo region.

It’s raining.

When it rains,

I have a lot of questions.

Changed inside,

Gentle winds.

The rain doesn’t stop,

There is no sleep.

Excitement in my mind,

It hurts like hell.

I wish he would stop now

Rustling voices.

Lek did not stop crying,

Cry like a baby.

These noises will stop,

Chehra Khan puts flowers.

Smallpox, tulip, rubella,

Like flowers want.

Ilhomova Mohichehra is a student of the 8th grade of the 9th general secondary school of Zarafshan city, Navoi region.