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.

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. 

Here We Are in the Mid 2020s

                  Drop, bounce, roll, sleet against

window payne onto ledge

                   glaze covered cement walkway

naked, cold, lifeless 

                   in the creek bed, lights of the night sky

waver… dim… dark clouds roll above  

              large mounds of frozen dirt cover 

the terrain where once a forest 

                           stood

 now awaiting manmade woods of aluminum 

                         processed wood

In the distance a gilded age

                mansion stares down upon it all

as it once did onto the shacks in

                          the woods. 

Down in the swamp where a city rose from the muck and slime

winter’s freeze preserves the musky filthy odor, embeds itself

in the people who populate the large classical buildings that

sit atop.

Their hearts beat slower, body temperature lowers

as the rich get richer, poor get poorer, health care

abandoned and middle class dropping like sleet from

a winter storm. 

                                                               Downpours defrost the first layer of soil

                                                               dirty winter ice is washed away, crocus peaks

                                                               out to say hello. 

A

L

O

N

G

   The river, by sluices of canal, rapids of river,

meanders, then the rise of stone/rock as river

cuts through gorge, then lowhead dam. 

Thump… thump… thump of the cans

Revving… revving of the engine. Start – stop. 

One house to the next, pick em up throw in back

Toss onto the sidewalk. Miles upon miles of walking…

Hands calloused… bones ache… cold or hot

They are out there… snow or rain…. they are out there

Making just above a livable wage and the mayor says…

You make enough…maybe a few cents more. 

M

A

N

Y

Work two jobs to earn what one should pay,

Taking bus to bus to job to job at the chain pharmacy

First then the chain department store second 

16 hours a day to support a family, pay health care

Hear the king of the golden age that

Doesn’t exist except for the rich

Buy one doll, one coat you don’t need

Anymore than that…. Eats cake while

Others pull meals out of a can. 

We are here in the mid-2020s and it is cold and barren

ICE and Border Patrol run the country side abusing 

Migrants, abusing citizens in the name of the abuser in

Chief. A little man who chants

 gimme… gimme… gimme more.

It plays out… always attack the weak

your own people, another country 

surround yourself in gilded gold 

mock predecessors for your ego 

and of course, name buildings after 

yourself…. Never before done while in office. 

Cold…Cold…Callous…Cold 

Lawless

Without proper notice to the folks on Capitol Hill

                     BOMBS DROPED ON SOVERIGN NATION

Maduro kidnapped, removed from county.

                      OIL, OIL, OIL, OIL

Non warrior yells after the attack

S

Y

N

OPHANTS 

                  Praise him, how tough he is, actually say

He will dictate next move…………………

                     Juan Orlando Hernández

                        Juan Orlando Hernández

Pardoned just a month before

                    45 years sentence wiped out

                     45 tons of cocaine in the United States

Who is fooling who? 

Lawless

g emil reutter is a writer of poems and stories. He can be found at: https://gereutter.wordpress.com/about/ 

In memory of Renee Nicole Good, Poet, By Sungrue Han, Korea

……

미국 시인 르네 니콜 굿(Renee Nicole Good)의 명복을 빕니다. 1월 7일 미니애폴리스에서 미국 이민 관세청(ICE) 요원에 의해 살해당한 르네 니콜 굿(37세)은 2020년 “미국 시인 아카데미 상”을 수상한 시인이다.

“시인은 죽지 않는다. 시인들은 그들의 시를 통해 영원히 산다. 시인의 말은 천사가 되어 높이 날아오른다.” 

-고인의 시 1편(일부)을 감상한다-

May the soul of American poet Renee Nicole Good rest in peace. Renee Nicole Good, who was murdered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis on January 7th, was the recipient of the 2020 Academy of American Poets Award.

“Poets never die. They live forever through their poetry. Their words soar like angels.”

-Appreciate one of the deceased’s poems (excerpt)-

——————————–

“태아 돼지 해부 배우기에 대하여”

르네 니콜 굿

나는 내 흔들의자를 되찾고 싶다,

자기중심적인 석양을,

그리고 매미 소리에서 따온 3행시와 바퀴벌레의 털북숭이 다리에서 따온 5음보 같은 해안 정글의 소리를.

나는 중고품 가게에 성경책을 기증했다.

(비닐 쓰레기봉투에 넣고 산성 히말라야 소금 램프로 뭉개버렸다.

세례 후 성경, 광신도들의 두툼한 손에서 주워온 성경,

단순화되고 읽기 쉬운, 기생적인 종류의 성경들):

광택이 나는 생물학 교과서 그림의 매끈한 고무 냄새가 더 기억난다. 그것들은 내 콧속 털을 태웠다.

그리고 내 손바닥에 붙어있는 소금과 잉크.

새벽 두시 사십오분에 초승달 아래서 공부하고 반복한다.

리보솜

내 플라스마

유산균

스탬브레

길을 지울 때까지 반복하고 스크립을 했고 내가 더 이상 지적할 수 없는 곳에 갇혔다, 아마도

내 직감—

아마도 내 췌장과 결장 사이에 있는, 내 영혼의 큰 흐름일지도 모른다.

내가 이제 모든 것을 줄이는 규칙이다. 단단한 가장자리에서 그리고 지식으로 부터

그녀는 열이 나는 이마에 수건을 두르고 앉아있곤 했다.

둘 다 그냥 놔둬도 될까? 

이 변덕스러운 믿음과 이 대학 과학이 교실 뒤에서 나를 부추기고 있다.

성경, 쿠란, 바가바드 기타가 예전 엄마처럼 긴 머리를 귀 뒤로 넘기고 입으로 숨 쉬는 것을 믿을 수가 없다.

인생은 단순하다.

난소와 정액

그리고 그들이 어디에 위치해 있을까?

그리고 모든 것은 거기서 죽는다.

—————–

“On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs,” 

by Renee Nicole Good

i want back my rocking chairs,

solipsist sunsets,

& coastal jungle sounds that are tercets from cicadas and pentameter from the hairy legs of

cockroaches.

i’ve donated bibles to thrift stores

(mashed them in plastic trash bags with an acidic himalayan salt lamp—

the post-baptism bibles, the ones plucked from street corners from the meaty hands of zealots, the

dumbed-down, easy-to-read, parasitic kind):

remember more the slick rubber smell of high gloss biology textbook pictures; they burned the hairs

inside my nostrils,

& salt & ink that rubbed off on my palms.

Influenza – a Disease That Should Not Be Taken Lightly

Influenza is not just a common cold; it is a highly contagious infectious disease that weakens the entire body. It occurs most frequently during the autumn and winter seasons and is dangerous because it can spread rapidly from one person to many others. A person suffering from influenza often feels extremely weak, experiences body aches, dizziness, loss of appetite, and lacks the strength to carry out daily activities.

Influenza is caused by Influenza A, B, and C viruses. These viruses enter the respiratory tract and damage the nose, throat, and lungs. Since influenza is a viral disease, antibiotics are ineffective against it. The virus also mutates quickly, which is why influenza can occur repeatedly every year.

One of the most dangerous aspects of influenza is how easily it spreads. When an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks, the virus is released into the air and enters a healthy person’s body through breathing. In addition, the virus can spread through contact with contaminated surfaces. For example, the virus can be transmitted via door handles, mobile phones, money, or dishes, and infection occurs when a person touches their mouth, nose, or eyes afterward. This is why influenza can spread quickly and infect many people in a short time.

People with influenza usually develop a high fever, sore throat, runny or blocked nose, cough, muscle and joint pain. The most troubling symptom is severe weakness and fatigue, making it difficult even to get out of bed. As a result, patients may be unable to go to work or school and struggle to perform household tasks. This significantly reduces a person’s quality of life.

If influenza is not treated properly or is ignored, it can lead to serious complications such as bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections, or heart-related problems. Influenza is especially dangerous for pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with chronic illnesses.

Therefore, influenza should not be considered a mild illness. Prevention is extremely important. Regular handwashing with soap, wearing masks in crowded places, ventilating rooms, avoiding close contact with sick individuals, eating vitamin-rich foods, and getting vaccinated against influenza whenever possible are strongly recommended.

Influenza is a serious disease that exhausts the body, reduces quality of life, and can cause severe complications. By taking responsibility for their health and following preventive measures, people can protect both themselves and those around them.

To prevent influenza, cleanliness, caution, and a healthy lifestyle are essential. Frequent handwashing, being careful in crowded places, ventilating living spaces, eating nutritious foods, and getting enough rest are simple yet effective ways to protect against influenza. If everyone follows these rules, they can help safeguard both themselves and others from the disease.

Inomova Kamola Rasuljon qizi was born in 2003 in the city of Andijan. Uzbekistan. She is a 5th-year student at Andijan State Medical Institute.

_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.