This anthology contains work from Synchronized Chaos’ contributor Graciela Noemi Villaverde and may be ordered here.

Curated by John P. Portelli, Unsilenced: Poems for Palestine brings together poets from Palestine, the diaspora, and globally—including renowned names like Fady Joudah, Leila Marshy and Marwan Makhoul alongside some 50 international poets.

This collection is not just a book—it’s a fundraiser. 100% of proceeds will go to support Gaza, providing support and solidarity.

Now for this issue! Staying Human.

Haroon Rachid contemplates his country’s potential turn towards war, vowing to hold onto his humanity through culture, thought, and study. Bahora Bakhtiyorova reminds us of the impending challenge and risk of climate change. Ahmed Miqdad despairs of life in war-torn Gaza as Maria Miraglia mourns and rages about the loss of children. Mykyta Ryzhykh speaks to the trauma of surviving wartime as a civilian as well as the grief of romantic rejection and heartbreak. Mesfakus Salahin portrays a person who has lost his humanity and become like an automaton in the face of trauma. Elisa Mascia speaks to the challenges of holding onto truth and authenticity in a harsh world.

Eva Petropolou Lianou, in a piece translated into Albanian by Eli Llajo, shares a sensitive soul’s reflection on living in a harsh world. Brooks Lindberg addresses the limitations of being in space and time with a human body. David Sapp speaks in his poetry to some of the ever-present anguish of being human: mortality and grief, anxiety and trauma, as Steven Bruce poetically expresses lonesomeness and acknowledges the inevitability of death. J.J. Campbell vents about a variety of physical, emotional, and relational pain and loneliness as Liliana Mirta Ramirez writes evocatively of an impending storm.

Soumen Roy explores both the expansive sense of feeling at one with the universe and joining in its creative energy and the despair and emptiness we feel at other times. In a similar vein, Lidia Chiarelli speaks both to the fanciful whimsy of dreams coming to life and the urgency of preserving our environment before it becomes a wasteland. Mahbub Alam also references tragedy and restoration in the human and natural world as Lilian Dipasupil Kunimasa speaks to the joy of unity among people of different backgrounds and the futility of revenge.

We find solace in a variety of places.

Dr. Jernail S. Anand illuminates the healing and restorative power of poetry as Sayani Mukherjee takes joy in verse as a bee does landing on a juicy and fragrant flower. Elisa Mascia celebrates a fresh flowering of creativity.

Brian Barbeito speculates on the beauty and mystery of wild nature as Stephen Jarrell Williams describes how intertwined even modern people are with the lives of natural creatures. Isabel Gomez de Diego photographs food and blossoms, sensual joys of life. Rizal Tanjung reviews Anna Keiko’s delicate poetry about everyday experiences and thoughts. Christina Chin and Uchechukwu Onyedikam celebrate the mystery and beauty of everyday life in their joint tan-renga poems. Qurbonboyeva Dilafruz Sherimmatovna and Andaqulova Mohinur Juraqulovna share recipes and serving suggestions and a history of the Central Asian dried dairy food qurut. Kylian Cubilla Gomez’ photographs celebrate children’s colorful toys and adult knickknacks.

Murrodullayeva Makharram offers her rapturous joy at a dream visit to Mecca and the Kaaba. Maria Miraglia’s poetry explores religious doubt and the staying power of cultural belief. Izmigul Nizomova’s short story illustrates how spiritual faith can help people process intense feelings of romantic passion or grief, as Maja Milojkovic speaks to her belief in an ever-present God.

Nilufar Tokhtaboyeva’s rhyming poem mirrors the energy of the sea. Dimitris Fileles also looks to the ocean, for peace and comfort.

Balachandran Nair comically mocks artists and writers whose ego isolate them from family and community. In contrast, poet Eva Lianou Petropolou Lianou reflects on fellow poet Vo Thi Nhu Mai’s warmth and kindness as much as her craft.

Dr. Ahmad Al-Qaisi takes pleasure in the simple joy of coffee with a friend as Kareem Abdullah crafts tender love poetry and Christopher Bernard’s poetic speaker vows to love their honest-to-a-fault friend even if love is complete foolishness. Shoxista Haydarova pays tribute to her loyal and caring father, as Manik Chakraborty reflects on the nurture of his mother. Murodullayev Umidjon speculates on the nature of friendship. Umarova Nazokat celebrates a mother’s tender love as Nurullayeva Ra’no highlights mothers’ care, devotion, and concern for their children and Dr. Jernail Anand reflects on the vital role of mothering. Maftuna Rustamova reminds us to honor and respect our parents because of the love and care they have shown us, as Graciela Noemi Villaverde describes the unique personalities of each of her beloved grandsons. Chimezie Ihekuna turns to the loyalty of family as a balm for human vulnerability as Priyanka Neogi speaks to the love and responsibilities of marriage.

Duane Vorhees’ poetry explores physical and romantic intimacy while digging deep into the self. Michael Todd Steffen presents a memorial tribute that’s a character sketch of a strong and driven person with plenty of personal agency, for good or ill.

Taylor Dibbert asserts his newfound self-love after years of experience. Babajonova Charos draws inspiration from Pablo Coelho’s characters’ journeys to self-actualization and intimacy in The Alchemist. Alan Catlin crafts a literary and personal narrative through a list of memories.

Self-respect can encompass more than merely the self, and many writers take pride in their cultures. Marjona Mardonova reflects on the strength and dignity of Uzbek women and girls as several elementary school students in China contribute poetic thoughts on their hometowns, nature, heritage, and inspiration. Rizal Tanjung translates into Indonesian an essay by Konstantin Fahs on how ancient myths still speak to Greece’s contemporary struggles and questions of identity, highlighting the universal nature of these questions.

Z.I. Mahmud explores themes of racism, misogyny, and Black women’s reasserted dignity and healing in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Daniel De Culla presents a tale of vigilante justice served at an aquarium.

Bruce Roberts recollects the decorum and honor he saw in the days of American president Abraham Lincoln and laments how far the United States has fallen since then.

Uzbek writer Azizbek Shaymurzayev celebrates and honors the soldiers and leaders who founded Uzbekistan. Dilbek Ergashev offers up a poetic tribute to Uzbek writer Muhammad Yusuf, who captured the nation’s heritage and met an untimely death. Shamsiya Khudoynazarova Turumovna finds elegance in a portrait of a woman reading.

Yet, Yusuf certainly passed along the baton in the relay race of Central Asian literary and academic thought. Farangiz Xurramova outlines grammatical differences between Uzbek and French. Yunusova Khodisa contributes many scholarly essays in the humanities, including one on the form and structure of words, another on play as a technique for teaching foreign languages to young children, a piece on the need for clarity in a language teacher’s speech, another on methods of translation and strategies for developing competence in the discipline, and finally, an article on ways to teach different types of communication activities in a foreign language.

Moving to other fields of inquiry, Azganush Abdulmajalova’s poetry finds wonder in invention, physics, and mechanics. Shermatova Hilola Mirzayevna and Tolqinboyeva Odinaxon outline possibilities of modern information technology. Aytuvova Khurshida’s essay outlines modernizing reforms in education, particularly the use of technology. Muminova Farida highlights the importance of teaching primary school students critical thinking skills.

Dr. Perwaiz Sharharyar, in poetry translated by Maria Miraglia, highlights the world-expanding power of travel. Vo Thi Nhu Mai’s gentle poetry celebrates animals, the world’s children, and the vibrant multicultural city of Perth.

Latofat Amirova craves a life of rebellion, curiosity, and adventure while Jacques Fleury probes the uncanny dark motifs of Edgar Allan Poe’s creative genius.

In a similar spirit of artistic exploration, Texas Fontanella contributes some exploratory beats and guitar chords. Vernon Frazer’s new book Nemo Under the League, reviewed by Cristina Deptula, splashes together text, line, and image. Terry Trowbridge grows a fanciful poem about a potato facing surveillance and arrest as Zeboxon Akmalova’s poem reflects the experience of overhearing fragments of conversation as J.K. Durick explores our reactions to words, sounds, and numbers in daily life. Mark Young’s “geographies” explore fanciful locations as works of art.

Finally, Bill Tope’s short story satirizes the world of small magazine publishing and reminds us all not to take rejections too seriously. Humor can prove one of the small, and larger, ways we hold onto our humanity as we navigate this world.

Truth

In this world of ever more unified faces

each proposes a photocopy of another self that does not belong to him 

It tends to identify itself and to come out of its truth, 

offers the non-existence of unique and unrepeatable identity value in exchange for stereotypes without soul and minds less and less thinking.

Playful hide-and-seek games to conceal twisted thoughts in a society that borders on universal failure.

There is the courage of armies to seek the truth.

Soldiers fight with the divine power of the Holy Spirit 

to shake the consciences of those who trade truth for perdition.

 He sells his freedom for little or nothing.

Verità

In questo mondo di volti sempre più unificati

ognuno propone la fotocopia di un altro sé stesso che non gli appartiene 

Tende ad identificarsi e a uscire dalla sua verità, 

offre l’inesistenza del valore identitario unico e irripetibile in cambio di stereotipi privi di anima e menti sempre meno pensanti.

Giochi ludici a nascondino per occultare pensieri contorti in una società che rasenta il fallimento universale.

Esiste il coraggio degli eserciti combattenti per ricercare la verità.

Soldati lottano investiti del potere divino dello spirito Santo 

per scuotere le coscienze di chi baratta la verità con la perdizione.

 Vende la propria libertà per poco o niente.

Translation

Rizal Tanjung

In English And Indonesian language

From Achilles’ Heel to the Path of Herakles: Greece Then, Now, and the Living Myth

Greece was not born merely from marble stones and temple ruins. It grew from the verses sung by rhapsodes, from the rage of Achilles, and from the heavy footsteps of Herakles conquering both myth and history. If Homer once portrayed humankind as the shadows of gods, modern Greece now walks the reality as the living shadow of its past. The journey from myth to the present is a long process of preservation and reinvention of identity.

Achilles: The Body, the Rage, and Modernity

Achilles in the Iliad is not merely a character; he is a metaphor: a flawless body with a hidden vulnerability, a blazing fury that shapes history. In modern art—such as Ernst Gustav Herter’s statue now standing proudly in Corfu—Achilles is portrayed as a symbol of athletic beauty and tragic downfall. His naked body is not mere aesthetics; it is a cultural legacy of humanity pushing its own limits. Modern Greece is no stranger to this inheritance. Amid economic crises, mass migration, and European Union politics, the nation reveals that the “heel of Achilles” is not always a weakness, but a compass of history that demands to be acknowledged. They understand that beauty is never sterile, and that anger, like in the Iliad, can be a source of strength. In Greece’s contemporary politics and culture, the traces of Achilles remain: fragile yet ablaze.—

Herakles: Mythic Road and a New Nationalism

Herakles, the hero who conquered Troy before Troy itself became a legend, is a symbol of perseverance, intellectual strength, and divine will grounded in humanity. In myth, he is the human son of Zeus; in modern Greek history, Herakles becomes a symbol of national revival—one that faces forward while carrying the weight of the past.Today, the “Path of Herakles” is Greece’s road to European modernity without abandoning its roots. When Greece plants solar panels in former olive fields, when Athens builds ultra-modern museums beneath the shadow of the Acropolis, when the Greek diaspora in Australia and Canada stages Homeric theater with postmodern settings—then Herakles walks again. Not to conquer monsters, but to conquer the amnesia of history.

Comparison: From Epic to Economy

Aspect Ancient Myth Modern Greece

Central Figures Achilles & Herakles

The People and the State

Challenges War, Gods, Monsters

Economic crises, migration, identity

Symbolic Body Athletic ideal & ruin Nationalism, defiance of EU stereotypes

Core Discourse The will of the gods The will of the people, modern democracy

Struggle Against fate (moira) Against rootless globalization—Architecture, Identity, and Memory

Just as the statue of Achilles sheds the heavy Mycenaean armor for a more dramatic aesthetic, Greece today sheds the burden of history to present itself as a center of new cultural dialogue. It does not dwell in the past, but uses the past as a tool—diplomatic, economic, and artistic. As Pliny the Elder once recorded the beauty of the nude in Greek art, so too does modern Greece expose itself—naked in debt, in crisis, in struggle. Yet from that vulnerability emerges European solidarity, a rethinking of democracy, and a reinvention of Mediterranean identity.

The Path of Herakles Is Not Yet Finished

Myths never die. They merely change form. Achilles today is the youth of Greece protesting in the streets of Athens. Herakles is now the cultural architect rebuilding Greece with knowledge and innovation. From gods to parliamentary democracy, one thing remains: Greece continues to rewrite itself—with pen, with sculpture, and with the courage to defy fate. In the land of the gods now ruled by bureaucracy, the path of Herakles goes ever onward.

West Sumatra, 2025…………“Dari Tumit Achilles ke Jalan Herakles: Yunani Dulu, Kini, dan Mitos yang Hidup”Oleh: Rizal Tanjung Yunani tidak hanya lahir dari bebatuan marmer dan reruntuhan kuil. Ia tumbuh dari syair yang dinyanyikan para rhapsode, dari amarah seorang Achilles, dan dari langkah berat Herakles yang berjalan menaklukkan mitos dan sejarah. Bila dulu kisah Homeros menggambarkan manusia sebagai bayangan para dewa, kini Yunani modern menapak realitas sebagai bayangan masa lalu yang terus dihidupkan. Perjalanan dari mitos ke masa kini adalah proses panjang antara pelestarian dan penciptaan ulang identitas.

Achilles: Tubuh, Amarah, dan Modernitas

Achilles dalam Iliad bukan hanya tokoh, ia adalah metafora: tubuh sempurna dengan kelemahan tersembunyi, kemarahan yang membakar namun membentuk sejarah. Dalam seni modern, seperti patung karya Ernst Gustav Herter yang kini berdiri megah di Corfu, Achilles dihadirkan sebagai simbol keindahan atletik dan kehancuran tragis. Tubuh telanjangnya bukan sekadar estetika; itu adalah warisan budaya tentang manusia yang melampaui batas.Yunani kini tidak asing dengan warisan ini. Di tengah krisis ekonomi, migrasi besar-besaran, dan debat politik Uni Eropa, bangsa ini menunjukkan bahwa “tumit Achilles” tidak selalu kelemahan, tetapi juga penanda arah sejarah yang tak bisa diabaikan. Mereka sadar bahwa keindahan tidak pernah steril, dan bahwa kemarahan, seperti dalam Iliad, bisa menjadi sumber kekuatan. Dalam politik dan budaya Yunani kontemporer, tampak jejak Achilles: rapuh namun membara.

Herakles: Jalan Mitis dan Nasionalisme Baru

Herakles, sang pahlawan yang menaklukkan Troya sebelum Troya sendiri menjadi legenda, adalah simbol dari ketekunan, kekuatan intelektual, dan kehendak ilahi yang “membumi”. Dalam mitos, ia adalah anak Zeus yang manusiawi; dalam sejarah Yunani modern, Herakles menjadi simbol dari kebangkitan bangsa — yang menatap masa depan sambil memikul masa lalu.“Jalan Herakles” hari ini adalah jalan Yunani menuju modernitas Eropa tanpa meninggalkan akar.

Ketika Yunani menanam panel surya di bekas ladang zaitun, ketika Athena membangun museum ultra-modern di bawah bayang-bayang Akropolis, ketika diaspora Yunani di Australia dan Kanada memanggungkan teater Homeros dengan latar pasca-modern — maka Herakles berjalan lagi. Bukan menaklukkan monster, tapi menaklukkan amnesia sejarah.

Perbandingan: Dari Epos ke EkonomiAspek Mitos Kuno Yunani KiniFigur Sentral Achilles & Herakles Rakyat dan NegaraTantangan Perang, Dewa, Monster Krisis ekonomi, migrasi, identitas budaya

Simbol Tubuh Ideal atletis & kehancuran Nasionalisme, perlawanan terhadap stereotipe EropaWacana Utama Kehendak para dewa Kehendak rakyat, demokrasi modernPerjuangan Melawan takdir (moira) Melawan globalisasi tanpa akarArsitektur, Identitas, dan IngatanSebagaimana patung Achilles menolak zirah berat Mykenai demi estetika yang lebih dramatis, Yunani hari ini menanggalkan beban sejarah untuk menampilkan diri sebagai pusat dialog budaya baru. Mereka tidak hidup di masa lalu, tetapi menggunakan masa lalu sebagai senjata diplomatik, ekonomi, dan seni.

Sebagaimana Plinius Tua mencatat keindahan telanjang dalam seni Yunani, begitu pula Yunani modern membuka dirinya—telanjang dalam utang, dalam krisis, dalam perjuangan. Tapi dari sana pula muncul solidaritas Eropa, pemikiran ulang tentang demokrasi, dan penciptaan ulang identitas Mediterrania.Jalan Herakles Belum SelesaiMitos tidak pernah mati. Ia hanya berubah bentuk. Achilles kini adalah generasi muda Yunani yang memprotes di jalanan Athena. Herakles kini adalah arsitek budaya yang membangun kembali Yunani dengan pengetahuan dan inovasi. Dari dewa-dewa ke demokrasi parlementer, satu hal yang tetap: Yunani terus menulis ulang dirinya — dengan pena, patung, dan keberanian melawan takdir.Di negeri para dewa yang kini dikuasai birokrasi, Jalan Herakles terus berlanjut.Sumatera Barat, 2025…….

ON MOTHER’S DAY 

The lady who bears you 

Is God’s choice 

Best suited for you 

Labours when you are 

In her womb 

And extends her warm lap

To make sure you are safe 

In this unsafe world.

In this world which is full of 

Critics and men who judge you 

Eager to punish you 

For your faults,

There she is who loves you

With all your faults 

And when fate encounters 

With multiple issues,

She sighs on your destiny 

Good or bad, foul or chaste 

A son is a son 

And a daughter a daughter

Remember young souls 

A mother too is a mother 

From her lap we emerge 

To her lap we retire 

Which waits for us 

While we are busy 

In making sense of this life.

Dr. Jernail Singh Anand, [the Seneca, Charter of Morava, Franz Kafka and Maxim Gorky awards Laureate, with an opus of 180 books, whose name adorns the Poets’ Rock in Serbia]]  is a towering literary figure whose work embodies a rare fusion of creativity, intellect, and moral vision.

Marriage

Marriage means being one together as well,

Together happiness is to cross the battle of the storm.

Marriage means long tour,

Love, respect, burdens, “to rely on mutual respect,

In the wonderful glory of each other in two lives ”,

Happy results are happy in the last day.

Short biography:Amb. Dr.Priyanka Neogi from Coochbehar. She is an administrative Controler of United Nations PAF,librarian,CEO of Lio Messi International Property & land Consultanncy, international literacy worker, sports & peace promoter, dancer, singer, reciter, live telecaster, writer, editor, researcher, Literary journalist, host, beauty queen, international Co-ordinator of Vijay Mission of Community Welfare Foundation of India.

To You, O God

Your reflection dwells in the eyes of the spiritual.

I seek You, O God —

tirelessly, in the silence of morning,

in a drop of dew,

in the breath that awakens with the dawn.

I search for You

in the touch of the wind,

in the bird that sings unseen,

in thoughts that fall silent

while the heart speaks.

I know,

You are everywhere —

in the gaze of the beggar,

in the smile of the wise,

in the hush of the temple,

and in the clamor of life.

When I kneel,

it is not before the world,

but before Your eternal goodness.

When I weep,

I do not fear sorrow —

for I know You are in every tear.

To You, O God,

I offer this verse,

let it be a bridge

between my being

and Your eternity.

Maja Milojković was born in Zaječar and divides her life between Serbia and Denmark. In Serbia, she serves as the deputy editor-in-chief at the publishing house Sfairos in Belgrade. She is also the founder and vice president of the Rtanj and Mesečev Poets’ Circle, which counts 800 members, and the editor-in-chief of the international e-magazine Area Felix, a bilingual Serbian-English publication. She writes literary reviews, and as a poet, she is represented in numerous domestic and international literary magazines, anthologies, and electronic media. Some of her poems are also available on the YouTube platform. Maja Milojković has won many international awards. She is an active member of various associations and organizations advocating for peace in the world, animal protection, and the fight against racism. She is the author of two books: Mesečev krug (Moon Circle) and Drveće Želje (Trees of Desire). She is one of the founders of the first mixed-gender club Area Felix from Zaječar, Serbia, and is currently a member of the same club. She is a member of the literary club Zlatno Pero from Knjaževac, and the association of writers and artists Gorski Vidici from Podgorica, Montenegro.

A WOMAN READS A BOOK…

(Thoughts upon gazing at a portrait)

Leaning against a majestic tree,

A woman reads, lost in reverie.

Ashamed of a world of deceit and disgrace,

She escapes—seeking words’ embrace…

A woman reads, her voice so light,

Spreading love, her soul shines bright.

Like the world’s most beautiful sound—

Beethoven watches from afar, spellbound…

Mozart, entranced by her silent “notes,”

Her fingers “play” as the pages float.

Delicate echoes cradle the air,

Gifted through colors, vibrant and rare…

Blue turns green, azure deepens bright,

Pinks grow pale, crimson burns to bordeaux.

Yellows like amber, in shifting light,

Colors intensify as moments flow…

Emotions surge, metaphors rise,

Thoughts spark like spring’s electric skies.

The sun bows gently, offering its beams,

Waves roll softly over boundless dreams…

The deserts hush, the storms subside,

Day and Night sign their silent “treaties.”

Nowruz gathers melodies inside,

To hear her rhythm’s wondrous beauties…

Fairies hover in reverence near,

To seal this moment, rare and divine.

The finest paintings now appear—

Van Gogh is in awe, Dali lost in time! …

A quiet corner of the world.

Beneath a tree,

A woman immerses in wisdom’s sea.

Cradling grace in her tender sight,

She buries herself in words so bright…

The stars, the oceans, listen in peace,

The shores bear witness to wisdom’s feast.

A woman reads, dusting the past,

Yet… only the ignorant fail to grasp.

A woman reads.