Ascension

It is springtime, & the mountain lions are just coming into flower. A few early ocelots are practicing calisphenics on the lower slopes, in between sherpaing tourists up to the holy peaks.

Madrigals are everywhere — not Walt Disney’s magical Colombian family but the musical variety, where a number of singers sing separate notes that make up the chords the music is written as.

The ocelots pause in their exercises, begin to debate whether training the groups of tourists to join in singing a capella madrigals would increase the pleasure of their climb, or would they run out of puff before they got to where they wanted to go.

BOUQUET D’ANTAN

Am unsure if I like the

smell of yesteryear. Too

much reminder of mould,

of dust that you can’t get

rid of. But now someone

has brought it back as a

fountain pen ink whose

color is magenta, & seems

unable to do anything more

than make your writing look

prettier on the page, much like

its stablemates, BOUTON D’

OR or KYANITE DU NEPAL.

an / afternoon thought / for Tom Beckett

an

other is

another all together

al-

together an-

other thing again

X, formerly known as Twitter, valued at $4bn

We have created 
a new website for 
surface mounted 
applications using 
discrete diode 
rectifiers available 
from any greasy 
spoon diner or 
adult toy store. A
glass passivated 
junction chip re-
presents the best 
available hand-held 
screen protection
to view it. This 
website has since
been valued at 
US$10 by dental

marketing experts.

The al-Khwarizmi ficcione

No record of it exists except as a refutation. & the only record of the refutation is a fragment of a manuscript without provenance, attributed by the late Umberto Allegrezza, on the basis of stylistic & scribic elements, to Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi, better known as an astronomer, as the inventor of algebra, & rumored to be author of a lost — or rather — hidden treatise on calculus & which, it has been claimed, was the basis for both Isaac Newton’s method of fluxions and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s integral notation.

The manuscript records the thoughts of al-Khwarizmi on a homily by his contemporary Photius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, adherent to a different religion, entitled “All Life is an Accident Waiting to Happen,” aware that it was an ironic title since what Photius was advocating was the exact opposite.

al-Khwarizmi’s piece has an equally ironic title. “All Accidents are a Life Waiting to Happen.”

COMPATIBILITY OF TRADITIONAL VALUES AND MODERN DEVELOPMENT

ANNOTATION

This article discusses the role of Uzbek girls in society, the preservation of national values, and the use of modern education and opportunities. Today, it is important for girls to gain knowledge, acquire a profession, learn modern technologies, and actively participate in public life. The combination of national values ​​and modern knowledge serves to educate well-rounded, independently thinking, and spiritually-minded young people. The article also analyzes the role of family, education, and society in the upbringing of girls.

Keywords: Uzbek girls, national values, education, upbringing, youth, modernity, spirituality, profession.

ENTRANCE

Uzbek girls have always been valued for their virtues such as decency, modesty, kindness, and respect for elders. Today, many opportunities are being created for them to receive quality education, acquire a profession, and demonstrate their talents. Therefore, acquiring modern knowledge while preserving national values ​​is one of the urgent issues.

LITERATURE ANALYSIS AND METHODS

In studying the topic, scientific and analytical sources on education, youth and girls’ development were studied. The research used methods of analysis, comparison and generalization. Based on the sources, the interrelationship of national values ​​and modern education was examined.

RESULTS

The analysis revealed that girls’ education expands their future opportunities. An educated girl consciously chooses her profession, thinks independently, and can contribute to the development of society. At the same time, it is also important to maintain national qualities such as respect for parents, decency, honesty, and kindness.

DISCUSSION

National values ​​and modernity are not contradictory concepts. A girl can preserve her nationality while acquiring modern knowledge and technologies. Support from family and educational institutions is of great importance in this.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Uzbek girls are an important and promising segment of society. Their education, spirituality, and growing up in modern professions are important for the future of the country. A girl who preserves national values ​​and acquires modern knowledge is the creator of the future.

REFERENCES

1. UNICEF. Education in Uzbekistan. UNICEF Uzbekistan.

2. UNICEF. Situation Analysis of Children and Adolescents in Uzbekistan. 2024.

3. UN Women. Leaving No Girl Behind in Education. 2022.

4. UNICEF. Adolescent Girls: The Investment Case.

Jumayeva Gulasal was born on July 8, 2010 in the Shofirkan district of the Bukhara region of the Republic of Uzbekistan. She is currently studying in the 10th grade of a secondary school. She aims to become a primary school teacher in the future.

When It’s Summer

Ladybugs fold August’s

red heat under wings

crawl to shade, to edge

of creek, calm cadence

carves silence, caresses

perfect rhythm of green

heartbeat, deep in soil.

Procession begins on birch

branch, ladybugs mingle in sun

glow on bruised trunk, on wild

leaves stormed, hearts lifted

by the loud fingertip, eclipses,

heavy shadow of human existence.

____________________________

Closure with Flying Birds

They’ve spoken to my father

and bring back news.

He’s well. 

Sun shines in the garden where I sit.

Birds fly to me, ask

for a message for my father. 

I offer a poem.

I inhale scent of his shirt in the wake

of their wings. The flying birds told

him his scent is now mine too. 

I follow the track of flying birds.

I scatter seeds.

___________________

Worshipper

Lips glistening like brown sugar crystals

cheekbones angled like red rhubarb

stalks in your garden, you sit,

godmother, in all of your beauty,

amber skin, silver hair braided

at your breasts.

Your glow, scented ginger fingernails,

lifting soil from fertile slumber,

physicality of you not minding sun

forever seated

buddha among yucca.

_________________________

After Sixteen Days of Drought

Green blade of grass craves dew.

Praying mantis prays

above parched roots, gardener curses

brittle stalks, rabbit circles wired fence.

Splitting purple vine crawls up

shed, faded red legumes collapse left.

Gray clouds pregnant with rain.

Drought suckles at trickle

of reservoir, as slight drizzle drifts

teases soil. Black pebbles sizzle.

Ancient ochre moss peels off bark. 

Shrinking nightshades lose the night.

Children dressed in white, feet

stomp dust in rain dance,

voices shout rain song.

Mother hums harvest lullaby.

Clouds burst silver rain, soaking pods,

mud pies in dishes on playground.

Rabbit sneaks through hole

in garden fence. Girl’s pink

tongue gathers splashes

from rain, plum-colored lips

moistened. Soon impatient boy

will pluck budding edible blossoms

to the crowing laughter of emerald

feathered roosters.  Pebbles vanish

below flowing river. Gardener smiles

at orange abundance, mother tosses

cherry red tomatoes in her mouth.

Infant latches for her milk.

Green blade of grass grateful.

Praying mantis legs bless roots.

_________________________

Takin’ It Easy by Jerrice J Baptiste

This morning, I sit

legs folded like the Jade Buddha.

My cup of chai tea rests on the table

at my reach. I put pen to blank page.

Inhale scent of chai slowly,

making its way into nostrils.

Transported to a friend’s kitchen

with many objects in red on her shrine.

Taste of spices on tongue,

cinnamon & clove return with joy.

I sip until end of morning light

dancing on walls. Then, I approach you!

Jerrice J Baptiste is an artist, poet, educator and author of nine books, Her watercolor drawings on paper have been accepted or forthcoming in MER, Synchronized Chaos, Saugerties Shout Out, Las Laguna Art Gallery exhibit in California, Spirit Fire Review, Jerry Jazz Musician Magazine. Jerrice has presented her art work at The Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, in June 2025. She’s been featured as a solo artist at the Cairo Public Library in Cairo NY, in an art exhibit at The Mountaintop Library in Tannersville NY in August-September 2025, and also a solo Exotic Birds Collection on January-February 2026 at Mountain Top Library, She participated in an art show called Shout Out Saugerties, NY.  Her most recent poetry book Coral in The Diaspora is published by Abode Press (August 2024). She is well published in Artemis Journal, The Yale Review, Mantis and hundreds of others. Jerrice’s collaborative songwriting and poems are featured on the Grammy nominated album: Many Hands Family Music for Haiti. She teaches Authentic Poetry workshops in The Catskills, NY.

UZBEKISTAN, MY HOMELAND

By Rayhona Hasanova

Uzbekistan, my homeland,
May you forever be safe and strong.
The roads to your bright future
Have already come into view.

Look at the daughters of Uzbekistan—
How beautiful they are!
Beautiful is my homeland,
My homeland is truly beautiful.

The feeling of my homeland
Lives within my blood.
Humble is this homeland,
Pure and innocent is my homeland.

Upon my motherland’s soil
My people’s blood was shed.
Here I was born,
My Uzbekistan!

Uzbekistan, my homeland,
You have become so beautiful.
Your homes, your lands,
Have become so beautiful.

Uzbekistan, my homeland,
You are my whole world.
I have witnessed
The wonders of the world.

My motherland,
May you forever be safe.
The roads to your bright future
Have already come into view.

Life itself exists
Here in this world.
I was born in this land—
In Uzbekistan.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rayhona Hasanova Alisher qizi is a fifth-grade student at General Secondary School No. 74 in So‘g‘at, Ishtixon District, Samarkand Region, Uzbekistan. She is a young student with an interest in creative writing and poetry. Her poem “Uzbekistan, My Homeland” expresses her love for her homeland, its people, and the beauty of Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan | Student Poet

Dear Faith,

Jacques Fleury

[Previously published in “Faith Forever”, a poetry anthology edited by Sourav Sarkar]

     What an astoundingly intuitive and reflective empirical ideology you represent

      I am grateful for your time and thought behind every second

       Your authenticity is indeed coming through quite nicely and even more so exquisitely

         I already know that the sanctity of your temple is unquestioned and I will treasure it with temerity

         I see so much of myself in you that it would be an exercise in futility for me not to comment

          on just how much I appreciate and can relate to practically everything you represent

      Your perceived pacifying sincerity rose gracefully from the shambles of my dilapidated piety 

    like the steam that rises elegantly from my usual cup of coffee

    I command you indeed for daring to be so seemingly effortlessly and faithfully bold

   tender and vulnerable with me especially when I’m experiencing periods of instability

  Most can only aspire to be at such a mature emotional level as to know and acknowledge one’s journey 

from which one is derived while making no promises or assumptions as to what the future might hold
You are like the Hamiltonian philosophy that fuels my spirituality and my life journey 

Because of you I am growing greater faith in our humanity

and our collective capacity and desire to set each other FREE through peace and harmony!

Jacques Fleury is a Boston Globe featured and internationally published Haitian American poet, theater reviewer, educator, author of numerous books of essays, reviews, fiction, poetry and literary arts student through Harvard University. He was chosen among over 4, 000 competitors from 83 countries as the Recipient of the International Naji Naaman Literary Prize for Creativity (2026) and a Certificate of Participation for his “…esteemed contribution of poetry to the anthology Water: The Source of Life (Volume IV)” presented by La Fenetre De Paris. — Visit website for bio, books, CDs, essays, articles, short stories & poetry… http://www.authorsden.com/jacquesfleury

A Poem Beginning With a Line By Walt Whitman

Do I contradict myself?

No, I don’t.

 

Hopeful Feathers

A blooming flower in a dying garden,

Is a blooming hope to the butterflies.

A sparkling river in a drying forest,

Is a sparkling hope to the wild lives.

A glowing moon in a darkening sky,

Is a glowing hope to the night lives.

A breathing life in a fighting ground,

Is a breathing hope to the worrying souls.

A warming fire in a freezing house,

Is a warming hope to the shaking souls.

A soothing heart in a fading world,

Is a soothing hope to the suffering hearts.

A gleaming light in an unending tunnel,

Is gleaming hope to the tiring eyes.

A floating feather in a sinking life,

Is a floating hope to the reaching hands.

A hope can come in any shape and colour,

If you trust yourself even in a stormy weather.

— Kushi Nanayakkara, Sri Lanka. 

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Kushi Nanayakkara is a Sri Lankan born poetess who brings nature, human experiences, and creativity together through poetry.

She studied Graphic Design/Information Technology before finding her way into poetry in 2020. Her work often revolves around themes such as nature, art, life, love, mind, death, philosophy, and social themes such as justice and humanity.

Her poetry was featured in literature websites in USA and India and newspapers in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Her poetry was also published in poetry anthologies and magazines in India, Iraq, USA and the Philippines. Her sincere wish is to inspire hearts to stay creatively conscious and continue refining her craft.