Music from Dario

This composition started when I saw a documentary on New Orleans. I have never been there so I’ve always been fascinated by its culture and its history. And after watching the documentary, I kind of envisioned myself living there, the cast of characters I would run into, and the underbelly of New Orleans, but also the music and the uniqueness of the place, and that’s how I wrote Saint Street.

I brought in a 12-string and a mandolin just to give the music a colorful different texture, and that reminds me of New Orleans as well.

Poetry from Gadoyboyeva Gulsanam

Central Asian young woman with long straight dark hair, brown eyes, small earrings, a necklace and a black sequined blouse.

Rain

The sun is hidden behind the clouds

The clouds turned into a black storm

Covered the sky together with the sky

Suddenly the sky rumbled

Lightning flashed in the sky

Little by little

It started to rain

It was pouring rain

Knocking on the window

The smell of rain spread

It caught the whole world

Enjoy the plants

Sevinardi in the rain

It is slowly shining from the rain

Thank you plants

Asta bowed his head

Poetry from Precious Moses

WHEN WE EMBRACE THE SOLITUDE OF

TOMORROW

An Iroko, once tied behind

the black ears of wickedness,

always end with the recital of shadows

upon the earth.

Today anthems, are syllables of tears,

Pledge where dark beings once purge

The sea.

To the black letters of recorded time, which boils in fame.

To the prayers of bullets, mother

fired when age first brewed the wine

of maturity upon my lip.

My soul is a remainant of solfas,

Carving notes in this arm eaten by the

Virgin fangs of Needs.

Whenever we withness the harmonic weaving

Of flame on wood, we shall wear our anthems

Like skin,

For that black boy opposite our hut

Has learnt to recite the slogan of success

Where fear and failure brew dreams

upon the podium of regret.

An Igbo writer, a member of hilltop creative arts center, a lyrical poets who writes about the constant changes of emotions. My works have been published on synchronized chaos, poetry parliament, and my poem (virgins pride) and (symphony of love) was shortlisted in the 2023/2024 annual nature poetry contest. 

Poetry from Alan Catlin

Turning 75 Three Times

	1-
Self-portraits by Picasso:
elbows where the head
should be, mouth and eyes
randomly scattered,
a mass of color; 
body parts trying to connect

	2-
Novels in three lines
like Japanese death poems:
a few words summing up life-
more than enough

	3-
Remembering morning at
a still lake: false dawn 
suggesting light with a
persistence of fog refusing
to lift-lines written in lieu
of mourning. 


White Noise Twice

	1-
Woman in white-
pale skin and alabaster
eyes, a white room
wraith, a scatter of
dried flowers, herbs; 
Emily Dickinson dreaming

	2-
Open Mic with thunderstorm
with unexpected static, 
dimming house lights
then total darkness;
an apology for reading
a war poem that ends
in thunder


Kawabata Six Times

	1-
At peace pagoda-
wrought iron character
for peace. At dusk
a bell rings

	2-
Clear summer night.
Where are the fireflies?

	3-
Still Life with Flower
Arrangement- 

single long stem Iris
in clear glass vase.
Shadows cast on
white interior wall;
perfect symmetries

	4-
Still Life with Waterfalls-

Summer drought reduces
flow. At the crest,
sleek stepping stones-
still a long way down

	5-
A trick of light
on lake reflects
flocks of birds

	6-
Folding origami cranes
for peace and releasing 
them into rivers, ponds,
lakes- a thousand is
never enough


Flood Tides Five Times

	1-
Cornfields on a flood
plain-only the tops
of stalks visible

	2-
Light through spider’s
web between two trees;
a world about to end

	3-
Found, barely visible
in receding tidal pool,
between a scatter of rocks,
a whale’s rib

	4-
After the flood,
gray morning sky;
a broken tree limb
with one bird on it

	5-
Weeks of rain then clear
and warm. The sun feels
strange, out of place

Seeing Sleep Four Times

	1-
Looking up from under
water, the movement
of clouds

	2-
Sleep-letting go
of the body,
the mind moves on

	3-
Light through gaps
between broken trees.
New day colors-
blue sky and rising sun,
almost liquids

	4-
Bone white trees-
moon shadows on
still water.
Nothing moves


White Symphony Three Times
	
	1-
Young woman in white
gazing into a mirror-
reflection in half tones
and light

	2-
Woman seated on piano
bench facing away from keys,
an annotated score open
to a piece for four hands,
two hands missing

	3-
Dreaming woman sleepwalking
in white, silk kimono empty
tea cups in each limp hand;
rice paper walls dissolve
around her.


Tone Poems Three Times

	1-
Outdoor concert at
night, Les Preludes
with moonglow and
meteor showers; a tone
poem with stars in it

	2-
November evening
with freezing rain

Cars sliding
on black ice

Inside a Schubert trio;
safe at home at last

	3-
Stained glass sonata:
musical notes as pure
as light through
colored glass

Collaborative micropoems from Jerome Berglund and Shane Coppage

1



crow’s feet 

each year 

closer to a murder



	lag time 



Shane Coppage 

	& Jerome Berglund



2



leap of faith 



	what kind of present			

	does an artist give

	Kilroy



Shane Coppage 

	& Jerome Berglund

3



fiddlehead

joining the last place		

to permit entry



	no refunds



Jerome Berglund

	& Shane Coppage



4



pink corvette 

there are no wrinkles 			

in her skirt 



	orthodox church



Shane Coppage 

	& Jerome Berglund



5



Dr. Feelgood





	ruck pack

	Atlas eat 

	your heart out



Jerome Berglund

	& Shane Coppage

Jerome Berglund has worked as everything from dishwasher to paralegal, night watchman to assembler of heart valves. Many haiku, haiga and haibun he’s written have been exhibited or are forthcoming online and in print, most recently in bottle rockets, Frogpond, Kingfisher, and Presence. A mixed media chapbook showcasing his fine art photography is available now from Fevers of the Mind.

Shane Coppage is a poet and artist. His poetry has been published in Prune Juice, Whiptail, Humana Obscura, dadakuku, Trash Panda, The Heron’s Nest, Modern Haiku, Wales Haiku Journal, The Wee Sparrow Press, and Cold Moon Journal, among others. Coppage lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with his growing family.

Poetry from Joseph Ogbonna

The Awesome Himalaya

An awesome great height,

and a multiplex geologic frame

with breathtaking designs.

Snow capped summits and peaks,

large valleys with heaps of

solid water and freezing salt.

Extensive water gorges with

rich flora and fauna;

like the delicate growing viola,

the ever creeping frageria,

the tuft potent ilia,

lesser pandas,

the very elusive polar leopard,

and the dreadful luciferian black bear.

All these speak loudly and visibly to you

about me – The Himalaya.

I have promoted and elevated a few to

the heroic peaks of intrepid success.

The chief of them being Hillary.

Still any who dares to maintain the upward

trajectory will undoubtedly be indelibly rewarded.

I am a rare sight to behold, and the melting pot of the red dragon, the golden sparrow, the thunderbolt, the incredible land of the gods, and Ali Jinnah’s carved out jewel.

How to Help Firefighters in Los Angeles

Synchronized Chaos Magazine expresses compassion for all those affected by the wildfires in L.A. and support for those who are fighting them.

You may send cards here to be delivered to firefighters who are part of a program where incarcerated people in California may spend some of their sentences assisting fire crews.

Anti-Recidivism Project

1320 E. 7th St. Suite 260
Los Angeles, CA 90021

Alternatively, you may add a message for the fire fighters on this document, with your name and country, and we’ll print and mail it. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GCuvUmTTeexJMGlQ_7tUIFyldJyDvygTSwCpR_41-_8/edit?pli=1&tab=t.0

You may also donate books for kindergarten through high school to replace school libraries that have burned, or request books if you are a teacher in the L.A. area, by filling out this form for an effort led by young adult author and teacher Veronica Bane: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScW0VHXo3teTViHaFTHdEyqrIkXalQ75lXvXywQ3Qbij4jhew/viewform

Books don’t have to be new and you don’t have to be the author or publisher to donate. All they ask is that the books be in good condition.

Alternatively, you can send elementary titles directly to one school, to librarian Yvette Pompa.

Yvette Pompa

1030 E. California Blvd

Polytechnic School LS Library

Pasadena, CA 91106