Sobirjonova Rayhona, is a 10th-grade student of the 8th general secondary school in Vobkent district, Bukhara region. She was born in December 2008 in the village of Cho’rikalon, Vobkent district, in a family of intellectuals. Her parents supported her from a young age. She started writing in the 3rd grade. Her first creative poem was published in the newspaper “Vobkent Hayot”. She has also published extensively in America’s Synchaos Newspaper, India’s Namaste India Magazine, Gulkhan Magazine, Germany’s RavenCage Magazine and many other magazines and newspapers. She has also actively participated in many competitions, won high places and won many prizes. She is still busy creating.
J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) is trapped in suburbia, plotting his escape. He’s been widely published over the years, most recently at Lothlorien Poetry Journal, The Beatnik Cowboy, The Dope Fiend Daily, Disturb the Universe Magazine and Horror Sleaze Trash. Rumor has it, he may have a new book of poems coming out sometime in 2025. You can find him daily on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)
Mehran Hashemi: A Poet’s Journey from Silence to Words
I was born and raised in Iran, in a neighborhood where dreams often felt out of reach. Financial struggles shaped my childhood, and from an early age, I learned what it meant to fight—not with fists, but with resilience.
“”blowing bubbles
takes me back to my childhood
when i was immersed
in sweet reveries
dreaming of blooming hope
when the world’s vastness
could be grasped by my little hands
and i wasn’t burdened
by the sun that never sets””
As a student, I excelled academically, but beneath my achievements lay an unbearable weight of stress and anxiety. Something inside me whispered that I was different, that I was meant for something greater, yet the world outside wasn’t so kind. Bullying was a constant in my life—first as a child, then as a teenager in high school. My body felt weak, not just because of the torment I endured but also because of my fragile health. Chronic sinusitis and severe allergies kept me in and out of hospitals, making antibiotics a staple in my life. I was a slender, self-conscious boy, struggling with deep insecurities. I attended therapy for over a decade to navigate stress, social anxiety, and panic attacks. But no matter how hard I tried, I felt like I was drowning in a world that refused to understand me.
“”depression is like a dark umbrella
that doesn’t let me
face the rain””
Then, in 2019, everything changed.
Scrolling through Instagram, I came across a short, powerful poem. Just a few words, yet they carried an entire universe of meaning. Something about it resonated deeply with me, sparking a desire to create something just as meaningful. I started writing poetry—simple, short verses that captured my emotions, struggles, and hopes. At first, I hesitated to share them, but when I did, people connected with my words in ways I never imagined.
“”if i am a poet today
it’s because i once gazed at the moon
and she reminded me
that i carry a sun within””
For the first time, I felt seen. Writing became my sanctuary, a place where my thoughts—homeless for so long—finally found a home. The love and support I received encouraged me to keep writing, first on Instagram and then on other platforms. The more I wrote, the more my audience grew.
“”when nobody was there
to listen to me
i noticed the ears of a paper
silently wanted to hear
so i talked
then the world listened””
In 2023, I took the leap and published my first poetry book, Light Needs Darkness to Shine. The response was overwhelming. After that, I published Drinking Ink (2024), Caged Hope (2024), and Homeless Thoughts (2025).
My poetry was also featured in Poets Straight from the Notes App (2024) and Musing Around at Midnight (2024). I later collaborated on My Sad is Sadder Than Yours (2023), an art-graphic poetry book, and Thunderstroke (2025), a poetical memoir.
After publishing Light Needs Darkness to Shine, I began receiving significant recognition. I was featured in a paperback magazine, interviewed by several online platforms, and had articles written about my journey and my work. The attention and appreciation from readers and fellow creatives fueled my desire to keep writing and sharing my voice.
Today, I continue to write, not just for myself but for those who feel unseen, unheard. I write for the child who, like me, felt too small for the world, for the dreamer who just needed one sentence to remind them they mattered.
“”i know life can be ugly
but remember
everything has a reason
like when you’re hopeless
and your head is down
you see a beautiful flower
on the ground that you couldn’t find
through the sky”
Because sometimes, all it takes is a single poem to change a life.
bubblewrap innuendo
prime delivery
my latent desires listed
on the gift receipt
Heidi McIver/Kelly Sauvage Moyer
~
paperclip mudbath
just-finished manuscript
wine stains
camouflage the tears
Heidi McIver/Kelly Sauvage Moyer
~
fate donation
chronic illness
i gift my suffering
to the allopaths
Heidi McIver/Kelly Sauvage Moyer
~
soapstone
tattered loofah
the jagged edges
of my heart
Heidi McIver/Kelly Sauvage Moyer
~
pheromone subsistence
third anniversary
he expresses
the cat’s anal glands
Heidi McIver/Kelly Sauvage Moyer
~
every separate pine needle
collective fate
we form a tattered tapestry
atop the forest floor
Heidi McIver/Kelly Sauvage Moyer
G E M B U N [1-3 or 1-4] [pronounced Gem-Boon]
A Gembun is made up of either a one-word first link or anything up to one sentence, to be capped by a haiku of up to four lines.
The Gembun has to include an element of suggestion in either the opening sentence, the haiku or in both. It was created by ai li on the 12th of June 1997, inspired by Larry Kimmel’s TIBUN.
You are there and I am here We write to each other every day It’s second nature now to pick up my pen but today no new words come to me I know my heartbeat leads to you And no doubt that yours beats for me too Sometimes we need not even speak at all For what is in the heart needs no lines It beats without effort as does our love But you’re still in my every thought And when I wake, I know you are still mine If I get no letter from you today, I do not fret For a letter can’t take the place of what is in your heart And what is in your heart needs no pen or paper I can always feel your love, regardless… And I smile.
Alone…
Loneliness and sadness grew in my heart without you
I tried to find in someone else what I found in you
What I failed to realize is that you can not be replaced
When two hearts are one, none can separate them,
no matter how much I try to move forward..
If he would try to touch my hand, it would chill me
I couldn’t look in his eyes…
Because I couldn’t find my reflection
You hold the key that locks these golden chains around my heart
I need your kiss, your touch, and the love only we share
But I have no answers…
Because though we are apart in distance
our hearts couldn’t be closer
So I will stay alone with your memory
Because I can’t live a life with someone else that was only meant for us
I pray that one day you find your way back to me
You will find me where you left me…. Alone
There You Are
When I read your old letters, my tears always flow
Should I believe the words I now read today?
They used to be so clear with intent
Now I question if you still mean them
Do you think I can no longer feel you?
Circumstances unraveled our relationship
They can not be glued back together
but have been put back together differently
You try hard to pretend we are fine
though I still feel your deep resentment
But good memories still remain here in my heart
as sounds of our laughter peek through at times
And as I drift off to sleep, there you are.
Kristy Raines was born Kristy Rasmussen, in Oakland, California, on April 9, 1957. Kristy is a poet, writer, freelance journalist, and advocate for human rights internationally. She has received many literary awards and humanitarian recognition certificates.
She is most known internationally for her unique style of writing. Kristy has recently launched her first poetry book, titled, “The Passion Within Me”, and is awaiting the launch of her second self-published book written with respected poet Dr. Prasana Kumar Dalai of India, of Epistolary Poems, titled, “I Cross My Heart from East to West, Volume One” on Valentine’s Day on Amazon. Kristy is also working on her first two fantasy books titled, “Princess and The Lion”, and, “Rings, Things, and Butterfly Wings”.
Kristy also writes short stories for children and song lyrics.
Happy wedding, Dilmira sister.
May we be happy every day
