Rain Rain means rhythmic joy Rain means creation Rain means soft wind-cold weather Rain, you blow with green, live, fresh recreation Rain, you are so sweet. 18 July, 2023 Monira Mahbub is a student of grade 6 in Nawabganj Government Girls' High School, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh.
NOT VALID With a brush paint each day, a twilight Insisting on yellow auroras. not worth Retain deep images at mature age Because the time I came after is cruel. not worth Falling on steady declines, desecrated the Altar of my beliefs to consolidate egos. not worth Sharpen the bow and shoot wounding arrows, Knowing that it is unfair. not worth Take off the scales when the heart screams and nobody listens Voucher This bunch of verses that feels empty when a dream ends. not worth The useless word about the dead miracle That can never be reborn under foundations of mistrust... GRACIELA NOEMI VILLAVERDE Poet writer from Concepción del Uruguay Entre Ríos Argentina, based in Buenos Aires Licentiate in letters author of 7 books genre poetry. She has been awarded several times worldwide. She works as the World Manager of Educational and Social Relations of the Hispanomundial Union of Writers UHE and World Honorary President of the same institution. Activa de la Sade, Argentine Society of Writers. MEMBER OF THE HONORARY CABINET EXECUTIVE OF THE COMMISSION FOR PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS OF SOUTH AMERICA ARGENTINE CHAPTER OF UNACCC UNITED NATIONS UNIT FOR CLIMATE CHANGE CENTRAL, SOUTH AMERICA, MEXICO AND THE CARIBBEAN, IN THE EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL RELATIONS DIVISION .
The awakening when you live asleep in the life all situations they become dreams you also live many nightmares Where to learn from what happened, recognize what has hurt forgive those who hurt me forgive me for those I have hurt accept what is apprehended It's what you have to understand This awakening is not for everyone because once I wake up the mission is to transcend. Mirta Liliana Ramírez has been a poet and writer since she was 12 years old. She has been a Cultural Manager for more than 35 years. Creator and Director of the Groups of Writers and Artists: Together for the Letters, Artescritores, MultiArt, JPL world youth, Together for the letters Uzbekistan 1 and 2. She firmly defends that culture is the key to unite all the countries of the world. She works only with his own, free and integrating projects at a world cultural level. She has created the Cultural Movement with Rastrillaje Cultural and Forming the New Cultural Belts at the local level and also from Argentina to the world.
Pieces of us scatter in the moonlight On a rooftop above Manhattan We sit dangling legs over the edge like two thieves in the night Set to steal forbidden treasure Our eyes to the stars affected by the drink we laugh unravel Acknowledge what’s left on the table My fingers trail across the scratchy blacktop to your bare forearm savor the soft hairs on your skin tiptoe to your wrist I take your hand in mine Moments sail by still and quiet the warmth of you by my side fears vanished My eyes close The gentle breeze sweeps my hair across my cheek while my mind strays I am lost in the summer night You squeeze my hand then pull away promised to the pretty girl downstairs who holds your baby in her arms Star-crossed and conflicted our timing out of sync with life’s events Yet there is peace in the moment I turn to speak whisper something to smooth your hesitance but no one’s there The fantasy is broken
Linda S. Gunther has written six romantic suspense novels: Ten Steps From The Hotel Inglaterra, Endangered Witness, Lost In The Wake, Finding Sandy Stonemeyer, Dream Beach, and most recently published in 2021, Death Is A Great Disguiser. Ms. Gunther’s short stories, poetry, book reviews and essays have been published in a variety of literary journals.
Spring Grows Dim Where art thou gone, oh where --- Across the deep sea, riding on Stormy waves and chilly winds? Did we know it, did we care? Realization creeps in among us Now that it is too late, The sun that beamed once Is now forever mutely sit. Didn't though hazard thy life Ours to save from ruin--- Gone forth in search of light All our dark souls to illuminate. Oh, the spring is come again, The spring that went with thee Merry goes the world as it did --- Anxiety or care strives in rain... Nature wears her face as bright Wind blows as merrily as oft None sees wrong with sun and wind Flowers nod as sweet and soft. Birds fly from tree to tree Rivers flow, murmuring low Among the thickets, over the plains Boatmen sit aright, sing and row. Only here is no spring for us Spring is poor without him Shadowed with our grief and sigh The smile of spring grows dim.
Manzar Alam from Bangladesh. By profession I am a college teacher.
two small birds eat up pieces of dropped ice cream cones— two small children laugh — bag full of quarters . . . a dozen dried-up houseplants at the laundromat — partially eaten red apple on the sidewalk . . . evening sunshower — people come & go on a warm summer evening— bitten by horseflies — lightning overhead on a summer afternoon— on the phone with Mom — church food giveaway— iridescent Japanese beetle lands on me — cool rain cuts the heat on this summer afternoon . . . early taste of fall — wild sunflowers grow all along the light rail tracks— someone’s old armchair — summer in Denver— distant gold capitol dome reflects white sunlight — where’s my pretty bird? I call for the white chicken & she runs to me — bio/graf J. D. Nelson’s poems have appeared in many publications, worldwide, since 2002. He is the author of ten print chapbooks and e-books of poetry, including *Cinderella City* (The Red Ceilings Press, 2012). Nelson’s first full-length collection is *in ghostly onehead* (Post-Asemic Press, 2022). Visit his website, MadVerse.com, for more information and links to his published work. His haiku blog is at JDNelson.net. Nelson lives in Colorado, USA.
Welcome to a fresh month of Synchronized Chaos! We’re exploring reality from different perspectives, experimenting with different takes and different frames.
Mark Young’s poetry evokes reframing, repurposing, contrast, and juxtaposition.
Ellie Ness contributes a sketch of cultural exploration by contrast: an Englishwoman abroad in Iraq under under Saddam Hussein. We see a sketch of domestic life, the different spheres of influence of men and women, the power relationships and norms.
Caleb Ishaya Oseshi’s black and white photography illustrates ordinary people of Nigeria. We see them living everyday life, walking, bicycling, carrying children and other objects in vibrant street scenes.
Isabel Gomes de Diego photographs a barbecue, inviting us to imagine the people who will gather to enjoy the feast.
Ahmad Al-Khatat speaks to romantic love, grief, and the desire to connect across cultural and physical differences.
Sa’ada Isa Yahaya conveys the physicality of grief, the pain of a nation stored in a person’s body. Fortune Simeon illustrates how grief transforms and colors our everyday perceptions. Ogwuche Bella’s speaker attempts to love despite overwhelming personal and societal grief.
Shamsiya Khudoinazarova Turumovna sings a story of grief, for a nation and for a person. Wisdom Adediji buries grief into poems, as writing is both a way to hide and to express feeling. Taylor Dibbert reflects on a man losing a beloved dog.
Mykyta Ryzhykh writes with the feeling of a cold winter’s barren landscape, addressing death and our search for meaning. Christopher Bernard references the whole cycle of life with his piece on a fallen tree in someone’s backyard. Azemina Krehic evokes a history of wartime loss in her piece on a fruit that never ripens. Jerry Durick explores how we cope with different types of global or local disasters.
Duane Vorhees probes how our minds seek purpose and consciousness behind random and arbitrary forces in society and nature. J.D. Nelson confronts us with sets of words that seem haphazard, inviting us to co-create potential meaning.
Texas Fontanella describes an uneasy peace among roommates in different states of sanity. Lauren McBride’s structured poems highlight confusion and chaos of various kinds, mental and horticultural.
Aklina Ankhi expresses union with nature, even as it’s being crushed by the growth of civilization. Rezauddin Stalin joins in with nature’s other creatures in individual expression through his poetry.
Channie Greenberg photographs various kinds of colorful fish while Sayani Mukherjee revels in the intoxicating sight and scent of white roses in summer.
For Don Bormon, the wind inspires thoughts of freedom and adventure. John Culp references snowmelt on a glacier to convey his joy at opening up emotionally to love and personal growth.
Mahbub Alam talks about love in the age of climate change and extreme weather while Kristy Raines explores how love can help us see and appreciate different sides of people and Lilian Dipasupil Kunimasa relates her quest to live to the fullest, to find and understand true love.
Annie Johnson reverently speaks of long-term love and stillness under the moonlight while Jerry Langdon sends up cleverly crafted and structured poems about life and love.
Texas Fontanella’s offbeat love poem concerns falling for someone and not being able to explain why.
Anna Ferriero gives a poetic take on love and creativity, drawing on fairy tales. Kristy Raines shows how love can help us see and appreciate different sides of people.
Tanvir Islam describes a deep love and intimate connection with another person while Shakhriyo Kurbanova regales us with a lyrical paean to her Uzbek homeland and Borna Kekic raises a verbal flag and shows his pride in and affection for his Zagreb hometown.
Mantri Pragada Markandeyulu sings exuberantly about the joy of love and life while Daniel De Culla’s funky photographs reflect humor, observation, and a bit of social commentary.
Noah Berlatsky offers up a funny take on poetry that isn’t up to par.
Ian Copestick’s humorous poetic speaker faces mortality with ambivalence while J.J. Campbell reflects on getting old and feeling upstaged and left behind by modern society. Meanwhile, in another piece, Copestick presents some people who celebrate life in the golden years, standing proudly outside with a Bentley.
Mirta Liliana Ramirez writes of the comfort and pleasure of nostalgia in our later years. Mesfakus Salahin urges people to go forth and live with gusto at any age.
John Grey looks at how people from various generations perceive each other.
Bahora Bakhtiyorova points to how men who embrace traditional male gender roles can live them out in a positive way as protectors and providers and role models for their sons.
Gustavo M. Galliano illustrates the progress of dementia through a first-person tale where a man remembers emotions but not the names or categories for relationships.
Sabohat Saidova’s story concerns the importance of caring for and remembering family while Dilfuza Dilmurodova offers up love and respect for her mom and Wazed Abdullah crafts poems of tribute to his mom and his dad.
In Chimezie Ihekuna’s story, parents’ sharing their own former failings and becoming vulnerable encourages their son to get back on the right path. Meanwhile, Toshmatova Madinaxon Kodirovna highlights ways young people are changing the world.
Shoshura Husaynova compares international educational systems and suggests ways the Uzbeks could learn from the Finnish. Xudayberganova Mehriniso sends up pieces on school and the value of education while Ravshanova Gulnoza Shamsiddinovna surveys technology for learning and teaching foreign languages and Dildorakhon Eshmurodova gives thoughtful consideration to the debate between paper books and e-books.
Z.I. Mahmud explores Western literary criticism through a piece examining the story structures employed by British author E.M. Forster in contrast to those of other novelists.
In another academic-adjacent piece, A. Iwasa’s review of Claire Dederer’s Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma explores the age-old question of whether we can separate flawed artists and their abusive behavior from their art.
Doug Holder satirizes the now-problematic figure of Archie Bunker, reviving an old caricature for comic effect.
Muhammed Aamir’s story illustrates how people cannot ultimately free themselves by abusing or denying the humanity of others. It is in resisting that temptation that we can reclaim personal agency.
Slavica Petrovic reminds us of how we can find ourselves in different stories as we grow.
Maja Milojkovic celebrates the power of change and renewal while Emina Delilovic-Kevric speaks to creating a joyful home amidst the scariness of the world. Eva Lianou Petropolou conveys her wishes for hope, peace, and comfort and Elmaya Jabbarova’s strident piece urges us to get busy making a kinder and more peaceful planet.
We hope the diverse palette of work showcased in this issue inspires you to reach out and view the world from a new perspective.