First of all, published poet and contributor Tao Yucheng is still hosting a poetry contest, open to all readers of Synchronized Chaos Magazine.

Synchronized Chaos Poetry Contest: We seek short, powerful, imaginative, and strange poetry. While we welcome all forms of free verse and subject matter, we prefer concise work that makes an impact.

Guidelines: Submit up to five poems per person to taoyucheng921129@proton.me. Each poem should not exceed one page (ideally half a page or less). All styles and themes welcome. Deadline for submissions will be in early March.

Prizes: First Place: $50 Second Place: $10, payable via online transfer. One Honorable Mention. Selected finalists will be published in Synchronized Chaos Magazine.

Also, past contributor Alexander Kabishev is seeking international poems of four lines each on the theme of friendship for a global anthology. The anthology, Hyperpoem, will be published by Ukiyoto Press and a presentation of the poem will take place in Dubai in August 2026.

Kabishev says the new vision of the project goes beyond commercial frameworks, aiming to become an international cultural and humanitarian movement, with the ambitious goal of reaching one million participants and a symbolic planned duration of one thousand years.

The focus is on promoting international friendship, respect for the identity of all peoples on Earth, and building bridges of understanding between cultures through poetry and its readers.

Please send poems to Alexander at aleksandar.kabishev@yandex.ru

This month’s issue asks the question, “Who Will We Become?” Submissions address introspection, spiritual searching, and moral and relational development and decision-making.

This issue was co-edited by Yucheng Tao.

Sajid Hussain’s metaphysical, ethereal poetry, rich with classical allusions, reminds us of the steady passage of time.

Jamal Garougar’s New Year reflection emphasizes ritual, spirituality, and the practices of patience and peace. Taylor Dibbert expresses his brief but cogent hope for 2026.

Dr. Jernail S. Anand’s spare poetry illustrates the dissolution of human identity. Bill Tope’s short story reflects on memory and grief through the protagonist’s recollection of his late school classmate. Turkan Ergor considers the depth of emotions that can lie within a person’s interior. Sayani Mukherjee’s poem on dreams lives in the space between waking thought and imaginative vision. Stephen Jarrell Williams offers up a series of childhood and adult dreamlike and poetic memories. Alan Catlin’s poem sequence renders dreams into procedural logic: how fear, guilt, memory, and culture behave when narrative supervision collapses. Priyanka Neogi explores silence itself as a creator and witness in her poetry. Duane Vorhees’ rigorous poetic work interrogates structure: individuality, myth, divinity, agency, culture. Tim Bryant analyzes the creative process and development of craft in Virginia Aronson’s poetic book of writerly biographies, Collateral Damage.

Nurbek Norchayev’s spiritual poetry, translated from English to Uzbek by Nodira Ibrahimova, expresses humility and gratitude to God. Timothee Bordenave’s intimate devotional poetry shares his connection to home and to his work and his feelings of gratitude.

Through corrosive imagery and fractured music, Sungrue Han’s poem rejects sacred authority and reclaims the body as a site of sound, resistance, and memory. Shawn Schooley’s poem operates through liturgical residue: what remains after belief has been rehearsed, delayed, or partially evacuated. Slobodan Durovic’s poem is a high-lyric, baroque lament, drawing from South Slavic oral-poetic density, Biblical rhetoric, and mythic self-abasement.

Melita Mely Ratkovic evokes a mystical union between people, the earth, and the cosmos. Jacques Fleury’s work is rich in sensory detail and conveys a profound yearning for freedom and renewal. The author’s use of imagery—“fall leaf,” “morning dew,” “unfurl my wings”—evokes a vivid sense of life’s beauty and the desire to fully experience it. James Tian speaks to care without possession, love through distance and observation. Mesfakus Salahin’s poem evokes a one-sided love that is somewhat tragic, yet as eternal as the formation of the universe, as Mahbub Alam describes a love struggling to exist in a complicated and wounded world. Kristy Ann Raines sings of a long-term, steady, and gallant love.

Lan Xin evokes and links a personal love with collective care for all of humanity. Ri Hossain expresses his hope for a gentler world by imagining changed fairy tales. Critic Kujtim Hajdari points out the gentle, humane sensibility of Eva Petropoulou Lianou’s poetry. Brian Barbeito’s lyric, understated travel essay passes through a variety of places and memories. Anna Keiko’s short poem shares her wish for a simple life close to nature. Christina Chin revels in nature through sensual, textured haikus.

Doniyorov Shakhzod describes the need for healthy and humane raising of livestock animals. g emil reutter hits us on the nose with cold weather and frigid social attitudes towards the suffering of the poor and working classes. Patricia Doyne lampoons authoritarian tendencies in the American government. Eva Petropoulou Lianou reminds us that we cannot truly enjoy freedom without a moral, peaceful, and just society. Sarvinoz Giyosova brings these types of choices down to a personal level through an allegory about different parts of one person’s psychology.

Dr. Jernail S. Anand critiques societal mores that have shifted to permit hypocrisy and the pursuit of appearances and wealth at all costs. Inomova Kamola Rasuljon qizi highlights the social and medical effects and implications of influenza and its prevention. Sandip Saha’s work provides a mixture of direct critique of policies that exploit people and the environment and more personal narratives of life experiences and kindness. Gustavo Gac-Artigas pays tribute to Renee Nicole Good, recently murdered by law enforcement officers in the USA.

Dr. Ahmed Al-Qaysi expresses his deep and poetic love for a small child. Abduqahhorova Gulhayo shares her tender love for her dedicated and caring father. Qurolboyeva Shoxista Olimboy qizi highlights the connection between strong families and a strong public and national Uzbek culture. Ismoilova Jasmina Shavkatjon qizi’s essay offers a clear, balanced meditation on women in Uzbekistan and elsewhere as both moral architects and active agents of social progress, grounding its argument in universal human values rather than abstraction.

Dilafruz Muhammadjonova and Hilola Khudoyberdiyeva outline the contributions of Bekhbudiy and other Uzbek Jadids, historical leaders who advocated for greater democracy and education. Soibjonova Mohinsa melds the poetic and the academic voices with her essay about the role of love of homeland in Uzbek cultural consciousness. Dildora Xojyazova outlines and showcases historical and tourist sites in Uzbekistan. Zinnura Yuldoshaliyeva explicates the value of studying and understanding history. Rakhmanaliyeva Marjona Bakhodirjon qizi’s essay suggests interactive and playful approaches to primary school education. Uzbek student Ostanaqulov Xojiakba outlines his academic and professional accomplishments.

Aziza Joʻrayeva’s essay discusses the strengths and recent improvements in Uzbekistan’s educational system. Saminjon Khakimov reminds us of the importance of curiosity and continued learning. Uzoqova Gulzoda discusses the importance of literature and continuing education to aspiring professionals. Toychiyeva Madinaxon Sherquzi qizi highlights the value of independent, student-directed educational methods in motivating people to learn. Erkinova Shahrizoda Lazizovna discusses the diverse and complex impacts of social media on young adults.

Alex S. Johnson highlights the creative energy and independence of musician Tairrie B. Murphy. Greg Wallace’s surrealist poetry assembles itself as a bricolage of crafts and objects. Noah Berlatsky’s piece operates almost entirely through phonetic abrasion and semantic sabotage, resisting formal logic and evoking weedy growth. Fiza Amir’s short story highlights the level of history and love a creative artist can have for their materials. Mark Blickley sends up the trailer to his drama Paleo: The Fat-Free Musical. Mark Young’s work is a triptych of linguistic play, consumer absurdity, and newsfeed dread, unified by an intelligence that distrusts nostalgia, coherence, and scale. J.J. Campbell’s poetry’s power comes from the refusal to dress things up, from humor as insulation against pain. On the other end of the emotional spectrum, Taghrid Bou Merhi’s essay offers a lucid, philosophically grounded meditation on laughter as both a humane force and a disruptive instrument, tracing its power to critique, heal, and reform across cultures and histories. Mutaliyeva Umriniso’s story highlights how both anguish and laughter can exist within the same person.

Paul Tristram traces various moods of a creative artist, from elation to irritation, reminding us to follow our own paths. Esonova Malika Zohid qizi’s piece compares e-sports with physical athletics in unadorned writing where convictions emerge with steady confidence. Dr. Perwaiz Shaharyar’s poetry presents simple, defiant lyrics that affirm poetry as an indestructible form of being, embracing joy, exclusion, and madness without apology.

Ozodbek Yarashov urges readers to take action to change and improve their lives. Aziza Xazamova writes to encourage those facing transitions in life. Fazilat Khudoyberdiyeva’s poem asserts that even an ordinary girl can write thoughtful and worthy words.

Botirxonov Faxriyor highlights the value of hard work, even above talent. Taro Hokkyo portrays a woman finding her career and purpose in life.

We hope that this issue assists you, dear readers, in your quest for meaning and purpose.

_Golden bridges_

I find you

Because you were hurt

I cherish you

As I felt your pain

I love you and

I cover your wounds

With silver

So u will shine

U will shine

U will never break again

I will create a bridge for all the hurt people

I will build golden pillars

Nobody will hurt again children or women

As the diamonds 

They will shine

We will Rise 

And we will be re born in a future peaceful world..

©Eva Petropoulou Eva Lianou Petropoulou

International poet 

Founder 

Poetry Unites People

Congratulations, poetess, for this meaningful poem. The poem “GOLDEN BRIDGES” carries a message of healing, protection, and collective empowerment born from empathy.

The speaker doesn’t just notice someone’s pain (“Because you were hurt”), they actively feel it (“As I felt your pain”). This deep empathy is the foundation for healing. The act of covering wounds “with silver” to make them “shine” suggests that scars and painful experiences can be transformed into sources of strength and beauty.

 The poem moves from individual care to a grand, proactive mission. The “golden bridges” and “golden pillars” symbolize structures of safety, connection, and support that the speaker vows to build. This is a promise to create a world where the vulnerable—specifically children and women—are safe from harm.

The imagery evolves from healing wounds (silver) to radiant strength (diamonds) and finally to collective elevation (“We will Rise”). The poem promises not just recovery, but a rebirth into a better world”. The pain of the past becomes the foundation for a “peaceful future.”

In essence, the message is that by truly feeling and tending to each other’s wounds with love, we can transform individual pain into collective strength. We have both the responsibility and the power to build bridges of protection and safety, ensuring a future where everyone can shine and live in peace.

We are a single leaf

standing on the Tree of Life.

Bound to the body by the heart’s emotions,

so long as breath remains

we are praying.

From the fairy tales of youth’s spring,

at times we long to whisper

into the ear of a blossom.

Yet our hidden secrets

we tell to You alone

You who can listen to everyone

at the same moment.

You are Almighty, O God!

You bestowed valleys upon the deer,

wide tablecloths spread for them.

To what fate did You inscribe

eternal destiny, my Lord,

Like inscriptions carved in rock and stone?!

The author of the poem is the poet Nurbek Norchayev, from Kason District, Kashkadarya Region, Republic of Uzbekistan.

Translator Nodira Ibrahimova is a laureate of the international award named after Muhammad Reza Ogahi.

Is traditional sport more beneficial today, or e-sports?

On the one hand, many people consider traditional sports to be more beneficial. First of all, sports improve human health. By engaging in sports, people become physically fit and energetic. Secondly, as the saying goes, “A healthy body hosts a healthy mind,” meaning that a healthy person’s intellect develops better and it becomes easier to overcome illnesses. Moreover, people who exercise regularly also differ in appearance. For example, a 72-year-old man who has practiced sports since childhood looks much younger than his biological age.

On the other hand, the opinions of those who prefer e-sports are also valid. First of all, today young people’s interest in the IT field is growing, and this is closely related to e-sports. By learning this type of sport, they also gain the opportunity to learn IT skills. Secondly, many people earn income through e-sports, which is why it is turning into a profession. In addition, specialists say the following about e-sports: “It improves reaction and perception and helps make quick and accurate decisions.”

In my opinion, e-sports are developing day by day. This type of sport also has many advantages. As the saying goes, “Think first, then speak,” it is not just a game, but a means of developing strategic thinking and making correct decisions. Today, this field is popular in countries such as the USA, Russia, South Korea, and Kazakhstan. Therefore, a decision was adopted by the President to further develop this sport in Uzbekistan. Uzbek e-sports players won second place in the “Moynaq-2021” tournament. A few years ago, a Pakistani teenager, Sumaya Hasan, won a prize worth 1 million 280 thousand US dollars in e-sports. This shows that interest in e-sports is increasing day by day.

In conclusion, the choice of which sport to pursue depends on people’s interests and preferences. The most important thing is that they benefit from their choice.

The real heroes of today

The real heroes of today are our enlightened Jadids. Jadids are people who fought for the development of Turkic languages, the enrichment of literature in these languages, and the equal rights of women and men in society. Therefore, their role today is incomparable. Jadids called on people to unite, learn, and love spirituality and art.

The Jadid movement arose in the second half of the 19th century on the basis of the principles of enlightenment. Jadidism was first founded by the Crimean Tatar enlightener Ismail Gaspirali. The founder and father of the first Jadidism in Central Asia is Mahmudkhodja Behbudi.

Jadidism representatives in Tashkent: Mubavvarqori Abdurashidkhanov, Abdulla Qodiriy, Abdulla Avloniylar

Jadidism representatives in Bukhara: G’ulom Zafariy, Abdurauf Fitrat, Fayzulla Khojayevs

Jadidism representatives in Andijan: Abdulhamid Cholpon, Usmonkhodja Pulatov and Sodiqjon Karimovs are listed.

During the Soviet period, due to the literature written by our Jadids, they were described as a “nationalist movement” and “bourgeois liberal”. After the USSR, our Jadids’ name was justified.

Jadidism representatives often called themselves progressives, and later Jadids.

Progressive forces thinking about the nation were present in almost all classes of the people – farmers, merchants, shepherds, artisans. Our Jadids fight for the independence of Turkestan.Jadids are devotees who sacrificed their lives for the future of the nation. They awakened thinking, lived for the future, and instilled love for the homeland in the hearts of people. Our enlighteners awakened the nation through science and modern knowledge.                                                                                     

Hilola Khudoyberdiyeva. Born on May 19, 2012. A student of grade 7-A at the Specialized School in Kukdala district, Kashkadarya region, Republic of Uzbekistan. She is interested in history, English, her native language and literature. Her hobbies are mainly reading books and learning languages.

Review of Collateral Damage

Collateral Damage: Literary Biographies by Virginia Aronson is a keeper.

As explained in the Introduction, the poems in this collection focus on some well-known poets who have caused suffering and suffered themselves. Each poem is narrated by the poet, or a lover, spouse, muse or other intimate. Having read Smiling Little Hooks, her biographical poems related to Sylvia Plath, I knew she was up to the challenge. Aronson keeps her empathy ability set on eleven.

Now add her well-honed poet’s eye, a filter through which she renders powerful metaphors and depth perception. Her poems lay out what happened in the lives of these revered authors and those descriptions are smoothly linear yet have the unexpected potency of seemingly harmless cocktails: Long Island Iced Tea, Cosmopolitan, Mai Tai.

I don’t want to give them all away but here are some favorite zingers: 

In a poem speaking for T.S. Eliot’s first wife, she writes: And when living is done/ he told me one firey night/ he would like his bones/ flung into my grave.

Speaking for Robert Lowell’s widow: It’s the worst to see/ a man, a woman, an estate/soaked in the black suds/of disaster and sold off/ to help pay off/ debt, help, rooms/rented out while I wrote/of the abyss he fell in/without me.

For Anne Sexton’s therapist she channeled this: I was the one who/ she later wrote/ walked from breakfast/ to madness at the sad hotel / while she raged in her own/ glass bowl…

And for Dylan Thomas’s wife:  Drink was his temporary escape/ from the slavery of his calling/ there was no escape/ for me/ from Dylan/ his werewolf heart/ full of black blood/ until he died/ from drink.

It seems a familiar story: when mortals follow muses down that path—be it writing, making music, painting…other forms of self-expression, the ride can be rocky and fraught with collateral damage.

# # #

Tim Bryant’s has two published novels, Blue Rubber Pool (2018) and The Bird in Your Heart: A Carolina Sea Island Story (2023) with a third, The Stained Glass Mustang, scheduled for publication in May of this year through Unsolicited Press.

Virginia Aronson’s Collateral Damage: Literary Biographies is available here.

What Happens to the Brain When We Stop Asking Questions

Questions are the engine of thought. Long before formal education, before language becomes refined, the human brain develops through inquiry. A child’s first intellectual act is not knowing but asking. Every “why” reshapes neural pathways, stretching the mind toward understanding.
When questions disappear, the brain does not simply become quiet. It changes.

The Neurological Silence
Cognitive research suggests that curiosity activates multiple regions of the brain simultaneously, particularly those associated with memory formation and long-term learning. When questioning stops, these networks weaken. The brain shifts from exploration to maintenance.
This transition is subtle. There is no sudden loss of intelligence. Instead, thinking becomes economical. The mind favors familiar patterns, pre-existing explanations, and mental shortcuts. Efficiency replaces depth.
Over time, this efficiency hardens into rigidity.

From Curiosity to Certainty
Certainty is often celebrated as intellectual maturity. In reality, premature certainty is frequently a sign of cognitive closure. When individuals believe they already know enough, the brain reduces its tolerance for ambiguity.
Questions feel unnecessary, even threatening.
This state is psychologically comfortable. It reduces mental effort and emotional tension. But comfort comes at a cost: the gradual erosion of adaptability. Without questions, the brain stops rehearsing alternative perspectives. It no longer simulates possibilities.
It merely confirms itself.

The Educational Effect
Many educational systems unintentionally accelerate this process. Students are trained to ask questions that lead to answers, not questions that challenge assumptions. Over time, inquiry becomes transactional: a means to a grade, not a tool for understanding.
Once formal education ends, questioning often ends with it.
The brain, no longer required to explore, defaults to repetition. Ideas become recycled rather than re-examined. Intellectual growth slows—not because capacity is lost, but because it is no longer exercised.

Cognitive Aging Without Age
One of the most overlooked consequences of abandoning questions is premature cognitive aging. This is not a biological condition, but a mental posture. The brain begins to behave as though change is a threat rather than a resource.
Learning becomes defensive. New information is evaluated not for truth, but for compatibility with existing beliefs. This is how intelligent minds become closed without realizing it.
Not through ignorance—but through certainty.

Why Questions Matter More Than Answers
Answers stabilize knowledge.
Questions destabilize it.
And destabilization is necessary for growth. Questions force the brain into active negotiation with reality. They reopen closed circuits, reintroduce uncertainty, and demand reinterpretation.
In this sense, questioning is not a sign of weakness or indecision. It is a neurological act of resistance against stagnation.

Conclusion
When we stop asking questions, the brain does not stop working—it stops evolving. Thought becomes predictable. Understanding becomes shallow. Intelligence turns inward and feeds on itself.
The most dangerous moment in intellectual life is not when we do not know enough, but when we believe there is nothing left to ask.