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.

THE NEO-MORALITIES AND POSTMODERN TIMES

Dr. Jernail Singh Anand

“Moral values reflect the mores of a society, such as goodness,
fairness, truth etc. as in the past. Can we apply the values of the past, which no longer govern our modern society, to castigate the forward looking people of our society?”

When we mention the word ‘moral’, the ideas of goodness, honesty, fairness and righteousness, well up in our mind. These were the ideals which moved our past generations. But for the great men of
today, these words are like moral tortures. Can we call their behaviour immoral if they are just following the neo-morality of
our times which has come to stay in society?

Let us go back a bit to the root of the word ‘moral’. It has a historical connection with ‘mores’. We get moral from the Latin word ‘moralis’ which is drawn from ‘mos’ meaning ‘custom’ or ‘habit’. The derivation of ‘moral’ from ‘mores’ shows that moral values are shaped by cultural and social norms of a society. Historically, many societies have valued honesty, kindness and fairness which were reflected
in their value system. As mores evolve over time, it is natural the concept of moral values will also change.

Presently, it is thought that morality stands for goodness, fairness, honesty, and a value-based living style. In this way, immoral constitutes anything that violates the moral code of a society, the ‘mores’ which form the ‘custom’ base of a social set up. The society in which we are living, it is very difficult to say it is based on old
moral principles. When we indict this society, we are using the moral yardstick which belongs to the social mores of times which have gone by.

What are the ‘mores’ of this society? What are its ‘customs’ and what the ‘habits of the people? In other words, what type of moral culture we have created that sustains our society? If we cast a neutral look, we will be shocked to discover that ‘good’, ‘fairness’, ‘honesty’ are absconding. In their place, the ‘mores’ of our society include ‘dishonesty’ ‘unfair behaviour’ and ‘corruption’. If we go by the
formation of the word ‘moral’, then ‘these’ are the mores from which we can deduce moral values of these times.

It is a painful revelation that according to this phenomena, corruption, unfairness, dishonesty, ‘tam sam dand bhed’ are the values which create the moral stratosphere of our society. Just as in the past, the law would take care of the people who did not believe in truth and honesty, they were put behind the bars; applying the same yardstick, people who violate the canons of the post-modern society, those who do not believe in hatred, dishonesty, untruth, falsehood, lies, and unfair conduct, – are ‘dangerous’ elements, not fit to live in this
society, because they do not accept and honour its moral values. So, law will take care of such people, even if they are righteous, and their conduct is good.

The basics of good conduct in this evolved society are: you should have a compatible mind set, compromising nature, adjustable
attitude, fear God and visit shrines ostensibly, but go for evil whenever it helps you. There is nothing bad if you get
your work done with the help of money. If you grab the wealth of another person, nobody can drag you to a court of law,
because it is the morally accepted value of the society in which the apex people believe and practise.

Religion has a great role to play in the evolved set up. It blesses the people who make great offerings. From where the money comes, it is none of their business. Those who stick their head out in the name
of honesty, truth and goodness, they stand to lose it. It should not be forgotten that a religion flourishes on the strength of state
power. When state power is involved, everything is passe.

In a nutshell, the truthful, fair and the honest of past times are ‘unsocial elements’ for the postmodern society who spread immortality. The moral values of the postmodern society stand for ‘tam sam dand bhed’. Man is larger than society, do whatever you can to accumulate wealth and enjoy it the way you like. It is a free
society, where even religion and law have to lionize the style of living of the rich people and label it as morally upright. Only those films are hit which violate all sacred norms upheld by the bygone era.

While the front liners of the society believe in the neo-moralities, the poor masses are given the dose of ‘satay kathas’ from holy scriptures. There is a clash of two value systems in the name of morality. This is because major portions of society are kept
confused in the old times, while the front-liners of modern society have accepted the neo-morality of the post-modern times.

THE INTERCONNECTION OF FAMILY AND SOCIETY IN UZBEKISTAN

Abu Rayhan Beruni Urgench State University
Faculty of Socio-Economic Sciences
Field of Study: Jurisprudence
Group: 251
Student: Qurolboyeva Shoxista Olimboy qizi
Email: qurolboyevashoxistaa@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
This article analyzes the essence of the close and inseparable relationship between family and society in Uzbekistan, as well as its social, spiritual, and legal foundations.

Keywords: Family, society, values, sacred institution, family relations, social institution, mahalla.

INTRODUCTION
The family is the fundamental unit of society and a sacred institution. In the main document that drives the life of the country — the Constitution — special emphasis is placed on the family. The Constitution states that the family is the basic unit of society and that every family is under the protection of the state. The role of the family is extremely important in enhancing the spirituality of any state and presenting it to the world, because a person’s pure emotions and human qualities are formed and embodied within the family.

As the most important social institution of society, the family plays a significant role in human development and in the formation of national values. The research highlights the role of state policy and the mahalla institution in ensuring family stability, raising young people as well-rounded individuals, and strengthening social stability. Historically, the nature of family and marriage relations, as well as the attitudes of scholars and thinkers toward these values, have been considered highly important and of great practical significance.

The development of the system of family relations has resulted in a decrease in the number of people entering into marriage and in the establishment of stricter rules for choosing a marriage partner. One of the oldest forms of social organization in human history is the clan or tribe, which originated from a single maternal lineage and united all people descended from a matriarchal line. Essentially, such a clan
represented a matriarchal family that connected all generations descended from the mother. One surviving example of this form is the Russian “matryoshka” doll, which symbolizes the interconnected descent of maternal generations.

A historical approach to family and marriage issues is reflected in the work “Mother Right” by the Swiss scholar J. Bachofen. In addition, the American researcher L. Morgan also expressed evolutionary views on the family in his works, particularly in the book “Ancient Society.” These works demonstrate the idea that the family institution is directly connected with social development, and that the improvement of socio-economic relations in society depends on the stability of the family. It is also emphasized that these changes historically occurred in connection with relations between representatives of different genders.

Family relations are also enshrined in the Constitution and constitute a separate chapter. “The family is the basic unit of society and is under the protection of society and the state. Marriage is based on the traditional family values of the people of Uzbekistan, the voluntary consent of those entering into marriage, and their equality of rights. The state creates social, economic, legal, and other conditions for the full development of the family.” The phrase “the family is the basic unit of society” means that the foundation of
every society is the family. Without the family, neither society nor the nation can exist stably.

Therefore, the Constitution ensures the protection of the family by the state and society, meaning that the state creates conditions for strengthening families. Legal, social, and economic support for families includes benefits for women with children, protection of women, and housing programs for young families. The voluntary nature of marriage — the fact that no one can be forced to marry, and that every man and woman enters into marriage only with their own consent — is an important sign of respect for human rights
and dignity. Society consists of relatively independent but interconnected systems, often referred to in science as subsystems.

These include economic (relations in the process of material production), social (relations between social groups, strata, and classes), political (state institutions and the activities of political parties), and spiritual (moral, religious, cultural, philosophical, and scientific systems). All of these are complex phenomena that, in turn, consist of smaller and more dynamic elements.

As one of the main elements of society, the individual participates in social life as a member of various communities. In this sense, society emerges as a “community of communities.” Society can be analyzed
from different perspectives.

For example, history as a discipline is divided into various specific histories: the history of a particular country, the history of each science, the history of discoveries, the history of regions and cities within a country, the history of socio-political movements and parties, as well as the history of each society and family. Each of these reflects the chronological sequence of events experienced by its object from its emergence to the present.

Society creates all the necessary conditions for the family through education, healthcare, employment, and social protection systems, ensuring family well-being. In turn, the family contributes to social development by raising healthy, morally mature, and patriotic children. Family and society are inseparable concepts.
They complement, strengthen, and develop each other. Harmony, kindness, and mutual respect within each family ensure peace and stability throughout society. Therefore, strengthening the family and
creating a healthy environment within it is one of the most important tasks of society.

CONCLUSION
The role and importance of the family in society are invaluable. A person’s upbringing, values, and worldview are formed first and foremost within the family. As the family is, so is society. If families are strong, caring, and spiritually rich, this positively influences social stability and development. The importance of the family in society is immense because it prepares individuals for social life. Qualities such as diligence, honesty, and patriotism are instilled in children primarily within the family. For this reason, family issues occupy a special place in state policy.

REFERENCES

1. Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan (2023)
2. Vasila Karimova, Family Psychology
3. Personality and Society (Methodological guide for AL and KNK students), 201

In Memory of Renee Nicole Good 

In memoriam 

Gustavo Gac-Artigas 

Traducción al inglés: Priscilla Gac-Artigas

Hay días en que me avergüenzo de ser hombre, escribí alguna vez

hay días en que me avergüenzo de que el tiempo pareciera detenerse en la infamia

en el miedo 

en el dolor

en la prepotencia

Hay días en que la jauría fue soltada para cazar niños morenos

ay qué haremos

ay qué haremos

y pobre de aquel, 

de aquella 

que intente detener la cacería

las balas de ICE las dirige la ideología

más allá de la nacionalidad

más allá del color de la piel

más allá de la razón humana

las dirige la rabia

el odio

la impunidad

el desprecio por el otro ser humano

ay qué haremos

ay qué haremos

la lista crece

el manto del poder

de la mentira

protege al odio

a la mano asesina

Hay días en que me avergüenzo de ser hombre 

hoy es uno de ellos

in memoriam de Renee Nicole Good

¿in memoriam?

¡NO!

en grito 

para que nunca más

nunca más

callemos frente a las bestias

para que el miedo no nos invada

para que el odio no nos gobierne

no callaremos

enfrentaremos al chacal

eso haremos

eso haremos

Translation by Priscilla Gac-Artigas

….

In Memoriam

There are days when I am ashamed of being a man, I once wrote

there are days when I am ashamed

that time seems to stand still

in infamy

in fear

in pain

in arrogance

There are days when the pack is unleashed

to hunt brown children

oh what shall we do

oh what shall we do

and woe to the one,

to the one

who tries to stop the hunt

ICE bullets are guided by ideology

beyond nationality

beyond skin color

beyond human reason

they are guided by rage

hatred

impunity

contempt for the other human being

oh what shall we do

oh what shall we do

the list keeps growing

the mantle of power

of lies

protects hatred

the murderous hand

There are days when I am ashamed of being a man

today is one of them

in memory of Renee Nicole Good

in memory?

NO!

a cry

so that never again

never again

we remain silent before the beasts

so that fear does not invade us

so that hatred does not rule us

we will not be silent

we will face the jackal

that is what we will do

that is what we will do

..

——————————————————————————

up from the floor

i wanna leave

most of my

memories

in the ocean,

somewhere away

from the plastic

in tedious moments,

i bite my nails and

wonder why i didn’t

die when i was young

this woman swears

she loves me

won’t give me her

address or any hope

that this is something

more than real

we’ll probably be

married in a year

why does all the

crazy shit with death

happen in minnesota

you try helping your

disabled mother up

from the floor with

a bad back

these are the nights

drugs were invented

for

piss stained pants

in the wash

a night nurse telling

war stories in the

living room

scribbling madness

on paper is child’s

play

—————————————————-

the latest year of death

a few snowflakes

in the cold sunshine

the last few days of

the latest year of death

can masturbation cause

carpal tunnel

four out of five dentists

agree

of course, some beautiful

woman wants to save you

as long as you are willing

to become the man she

changes you into

why resist, where has this

perfect creature got you

still think toiling away

in obscurity is noble,

makes you cool or

something even better

not often someone brags

about being a better piece

of shit

sure, there may be gold

in that turd but no one

ever wants to give it

a taste

rejoice, the end is near

a new beginning if you

truly want it to be

but that is just some

mumbo jumbo out of

some self help book

written long before you

were a stain in the sheets

———————————————-

die alone

pretend we are

the only souls

left

your soft skin

resting on what

is left of me

seventeen years

is one hell of

a gap

but you brighten

this darkness

let me know

that the light

isn’t always

a train

one day it will

be your chance

to prove to the

world you were

always what i

was missing

it’s not a test

but a plea for

help

not that i’m

afraid to die

alone

just don’t

want to

that subtle difference

doesn’t mean shit to

many, but hopefully

just enough to whom

it is meant for

——————————————————–

i mumbled something

a strapless neon dress

and all the reasons i

never liked going to

strip clubs

sitting at the bar,

just drinking

the bartender asked

what i was looking

for tonight

i mumbled something

i’ll never find here

she realized it was

a lost cause

never got a lap dance

though i did buy my

buddy one

he liked this smoking

hot black chick and i

never minded someone

else having a good time

looking back on it

i still can’t figure out

how these twenty plus

years have flown by

so damn fast

the tornado hit that

strip club years ago

i suppose they had

different dancers

by then

——————————————————

nothing but sunday drivers

an uncomfortable

silence in the rain

a two lane road

in the sticks

of course, nothing

but sunday drivers

on a thursday

afternoon

it’s a lonely glass

of scotch and the

memory of an old

lover that died

years ago

your life has become

the lyrics of the songs

you grew up on

too bad the songs

about death are the

only ones you can

remember all the

lyrics to

the subtle embrace

of your last hope

she has no clue to

the misery she has

stepped into

and while that baggage

will never be hers to

deal with

she will gladly accept

the challenge

accept what little

faith is still left

J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) is trapped in suburbia, sadly accepting his fate. He’s been widely published over the last 30 years, most recently at Night Owl Narrative, Disturb the Universe Magazine, The Beatnik Cowboy, Crossroads Magazine and The Rye Whiskey Review. His latest book, to live your dreams, has been published by Whiskey City Press and is available on Amazon.com (please buy a copy or two). He still has his blog, although taking care of his disabled mother takes up the majority of his time. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)

Silence 

The heart to heart talks silently. 

A feverish morning waiting for the evening, 

Whispering, fish-colored gasps, running and laughing, 

The new bud on the new path is everyone’s eye. 

The talk goes on saying that you should be quiet. 

Time will give some answers. 

To retreat silently to the last position, 

To feel the attitude of behavior and continue work. 

In the composition of silent situations & words, 

without words are expressed in the sea, 

Illusory imagination floats in the world of the mind. 

Magh comes to Paush to compose sentences. 

The witness remains in the quiet room of the understanding mind. 

Answers play a silent role in the passage of time. 

Reflection takes place in silent discourse as causality. 

Insistence comes to the new creator, 

providing words without words, 

Silence wins in the dawn.

Short biography: Amb. Dr. Priyanka Neogi from Coochbehar. She is an administrative Controller of United Nations PAF, librarian, CEO of Lio Messi International Property & Land Consultancy, international literacy worker, sports & peace promoter, dancer, singer, reciter, live telecaster, writer, editor, researcher, literary journalist, host, beauty queen, international coordinator of the Vijay Mission of Community Welfare Foundation of India.

Travel Log Sojourn Scenes, A Poet’s Diary 

The Spirit Message

I heard somewhere the clear book title ‘Silas Marner’ and looked it up. It was a George Eliot book and reading the summary I knew I wanted to read her book someday. It looked like Silas had a difficult go of it but was deepened and maybe even somehow redeemed by his life experiences. I paused, breathed, and meditated, said a prayer of thanks and one of protection as I was travelling that day north. 

The Journey to the Place by Winter Waters

I had cleaned off my vehicle and made sure I had washer fluid and gas. I would take my time and go through small towns after the highway, places where people and structures were more, well, few and far between. I knew those types of people, more rugged, honest, more ‘salt of the earth.’  I went and went and sometimes it was a struggle as other folks drive too fast or too slowly and there were transport trucks unintentionally throwing slush all over my own little truck. If I hadn’t filled the washer fluid I don’t know how I would have managed. I eventually I made it to the place by the waters, the place near the northern ferry and the white and grey-blueish ice, the view of the vast lake wind-swept and raw. I never knew if it was a friend or a foe, and maybe that’s because it was complex, and both. 

The Lands Reinstated After Colonialism’s Avarice

Looking around, I remembered a place I used to know that had two willow trees and a fine balcony, and in the summer you could sit and hear the birds and view wonderful waters, waters that glistened a bit for the strong sun that travelled by the clear earth having gone through azure skies. But that place was not really any more for me, and I wasn’t there…geographically or in time. I looked around. Many souls seemed to know one another and have a task,- understanding the world and their place in it. Hmmm, I thought, I am a lost soul, like a piece of parchment paper upon the winds or a bird that has lost its flock,- like an outcast wolf, far away from a pack. 

The Way Back to the Other Towns

Going back, I imagined aquamarine tropical seas but had to snap out of this and pay attention as the snowstorm had begun. I wanted away then from the rural and back to the south of there, and I went steadily along skipping coffee and food and only eating a cookie I had brought in case I got lightheaded. This all worked, this break in daydreaming and the cookie and the timing. I just made it back to the more populated towns and organized infrastructure before the roads became dangerous,- for when a big storm does descend, it really takes at least twenty-four hours before it’s sorted out again. That’s to allow plowing and salting and the clearing of air and all. 

The Trees and Lees and What the Poet Sees

Back safely, I took a bit of a rest and went and got a coffee and bagel. Then I walked by large evergreens and in the snowy fields. I had made it back to where I sort of belonged and took deep breaths and thought of many things such as Silas Marner and George Eliot, of pancakes and diviners and even of Jesus and the Gospels. I walked for longer than I had to, enjoying the outward silence, the fresh air, and the robust and deeply verdant Evergreens…

Brian Michael Barbeito is a Canadian poet and photographer. His most recent work, The Book of Love and Mourning, is his third collection of prose poems and landscape photographs.