----------------------------------------------------------------
gets longer each year
another year
another birthday
another shot at
being oblivious
but every scar
tells a story that
gets longer each
year
some think i am
getting better
some wonder why
i'm still here
death and i dance
a few times each
week it seems
the closer we get
the harder it is to
let go
those piercing eyes
melt me every damn
time
one night, we'll close
this bar down and put
on a show in the
parking lot
two drunks madly
in love
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on a wednesday in january
another morning
spent in a rehab
facility
third time this
week
yet another
disadvantage
of not dying
young
----------------------------------------------------------------
longer to mature
she doesn't laugh
at my dirty jokes
i remind her that
males often take
longer to mature
she gives me the
look
i believe that
means she's
quickly running
out of patience
if i have learned
anything over
all my years
it's when to just
shut the fuck up
----------------------------------------------------
the phone sex buddy
i think of those three
in the morning phone
calls
whispers of passion
while hoping not to
wake up anyone in
the house
there's a certain
joy hearing a woman
scream at something
your imagination
was able to create
it would be even
more amazing if
she thought you
were capable of
doing anything
else
hell is falling in
love with the phone
sex buddy that never
ever thinks of meeting
or giving you the time
of day if you happen
to stumble into each
other on the streets of
any random big city
on the east coast
--------------------------------------------------------
followed by thunderstorms
spring in ohio is usually
a couple inches of snow
followed by thunderstorms
a few stories of murder
bank robberies and you
can't go a day without
someone abusing a child
i'd like to think we are special
but it's most likely our shit
stinks just like everyone else
J.J. Campbell (1976 - ?) is old enough to know better. He's been widely published over the years, most recently at Horror Sleaze Trash, The Beatnik Cowboy, The Asylum Floor, Misfit Magazine and Disturb the Universe Magazine. You can find him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights.
The Wagon
So Like a man inured to failure,
We climbed aboard the wagon,
And The driver, only the driver,
Began to listen as the cadence of our deprivation
—Thud. . .. Clunk. . . and so on-
-Infiltrated the wagon’s pores,
Starting with that first dirt road.
Our lives’ parasols disappointed us
When we shared sorrows
Without fancy titles,
while Reaping lethargy and frustration.
It wasn’t only the driver, or The horse, or Our heads
That looked meager;
The wagon’s outlook did too.
Translated by William M. HutchinsShe is a poet, teacher, editor, writer, and playwright born in Najaf, Iraq, in 1967, who now lives in the United States. Faleeha was the first woman to write poetry for children in Iraq.
She received her master's degree in Arabic literature, and has now published 26 books, her poems have been translated into English, Turkmen, Bosnian, Indian, French, Italian, German, Kurdish, Spain, Korean, Greek, Serbia, Albanian, Pakistani, Romanian, Malayalam, Chinese, ODIA, Nepali and Macedonian language. She is the Pulitzer Prize Nomination 2018, PushCart Prize Nomination 2019.
Member of International Writers and Artists Association.
Winner of the Women of Excellence Inspiration award from SJ magazine 2020, Winner of the Grand Jury Award (the Sahitto International Award for Literature 2021)
One of the Women of Excellence selection committees 2023
Winner of Women In the Arts Award 2023
Member of Who's Who in America 2023
SAHITTO AWARD, JUDGING PANEL 2023
Cultural Ambassador - Iraq, USA
Email : d.fh88@yahoo.com
MY RIVER PAINS
I want to smile...
And you are in the air...
Even though I am young,
I am one of those who have eaten a lot of this old world's morals...
It breaks you when it calls, it doesn't break itself...
It's interesting, then you will also become one of these decency sticks who do not try to say "yes"...
I can't...
Why?!
I am a servant in this world, if I make a mistake in the morning, I will be punished at noon...
The century of my day comes when I know my lesson...
And you know "Kilmish" but you don't know about "Kidirmish"...
I'm not smiling...
And you are still in the air...
Don't think it's easy for me. I've had pains you don't even know about, even times when I'm ready to give up on dinner. But you know what? I didn't, we all have choices. So don't ever take a wrong step, my dears!
I want to go far away, forget everything,
To the city that my dream calls to.
I want to go far away, irrevocably
I am alone with this poor soul.
What did my heart not see?
I'm not dead, I'm still alive.
This heart is pounded like a horn,
And yet the heart is still beating.
Fate breaks me, shakes me even,
It never stopped teaching.
Now I'm used to everything,
Tears did not stop crying.
This is my face when I smile
I have pains that no one knows about.
There are things I couldn't tell you,
Mom, so that you don't feel sad.
Every night I press my face to the pillow,
I was crying so much
With pain in the heart.
This is my face when I smile
I have pains that no one knows about.
I have a friend. We talk to him every day. His thoughts are deep and thoughtful. I don’t pay much attention to his words. I used to laugh at his wise words: “Don’t be so wise.” One day he said: “You should appreciate your parents, I envy you.” I understood all the pain in his tearful eyes.
There was an orphanage near our school. I pass by there every day, as long as I don’t pay attention. After this incident, I began to look at that place with a different look.
I saw a crying four-year-old boy. My steps led involuntarily towards the boy. As my hands gripped his tiny shoulders, I felt a surge of strength.
– Does the boy cry too, what’s the matter, little one?
– I saw my father. I ran, but they left without looking…
I wiped the tears on their faces and comforted them. In the child’s Byron language: the resounding word “father” – the image of “invisible fathers” raised many questions in my heart…
Gulsevar Khojamova
Uzbekistan, Student of Andijan State Pedagogical Institute
Ode to the Dead Soul
The blue sea is burning in the leaves of the trees
The roar that pierced the sky stopped
Each chapter of the novel is titled 'Black Sorrow'.
The dry path crawls past like a reptile
Wailing wails across the fields
The tension of the invisible thread in the whole being
When will the sailor anchor in the unknown island?
Existence will sink into the abyss of space
A couple of birds perched on a dry branch, silent readers
A portrait in new white cloth
The soul of the solar system has hidden itself
The saint's body will be destroyed
Soul will get immortality.
The Best Language Bangla
In the land of rivers wide and green,
Where history's tapestry is woven unseen,
There lies a tongue, melodious and sweet,
That echoes through the ages, a heartbeat.
Bangla, the language of passion and fire,
Whispers of freedom, soaring higher,
In its syllables, tales of courage untold,
In its verses, dreams of old.
From the banks of Padma to the hills afar,
Bangla's essence, like a guiding star,
Unites the hearts, in love and in song,
A melody that's ancient, yet ever strong.
With every word, a story unfurls,
Of triumphs, struggles, and pearls,
A language of poets, thinkers, and seers,
Echoing through time, conquering fears.
Oh Bangla, in your rhythms, we find,
A symphony of the heart and mind,
In your letters, a nation's pride,
Forever in you, our spirits abide.
Muntasir Mamun Kiron is a student of grade 10 in Harimohan Government High School, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh.
Successful people always think positively. They always enjoy life no matter what. They are good at almost everything. It’s always nice to talk to them because they’re always smiling and friendly. Such people poison others with their happiness. Successful people believe in themselves and their success. They never feel bad that “I can’t succeed” because they make every effort to learn everything in advance. However, even if something fails, they, unlike those who are harmed, ask themselves, “How did this happen and what should I do?” They ask the question and look for ways to get a positive result. Successful people are not afraid of responsibility. They take responsibility for the decisions they make, even if they are difficult for others or risky. When you’re successful, you immediately have haters around you. Ignore them, don’t let criticism, pressure, emotional attacks make you weak. Build up your confidence and use your armor of confidence for good!!
What is the role of energy in our life? Why do I rarely take people close to me? There are different categories of people around us and we have to establish a relationship with them. I have been working on my spirituality and personal development for years and I want to share my findings with you! I avoid 3 categories of people very quickly, I don’t even read their messages: 1) He complains about his life, shares his pain with everyone, blames everyone and makes himself the victim 2) Interferes in the life of others, discusses and gossips about it; 3) Those who do not understand you, who only think they are right and give unsolicited advice. These 3 categories of people eat your energy. After you talk to a person who constantly complains about his life, makes himself miserable, blames everyone, his energy and aura of dirt will transfer to you. You feel powerless, unable to do anything. Those who interfere in other people’s lives and look for dirt under their fingernails can even make you sick. Gossip, discussions, finding fault with someone will darken your heart, and being too busy with things that have nothing to do with you is nothing more than wasting your energy.
For example, I don’t care who is married, divorced or at war with someone. Those who always blame you, who do not understand even if you explain a million times, who look for dirt under their fingernails, are the biggest enemies of your energy. By the time you explain to them and justify yourself, you will be exhausted and nervous. Because he does not understand, does not want to understand. Because he himself is so negative, he thinks of others as well. I will forever block those who have bad suspicions about me, I will never talk to them. Because if you don’t do a thousand good deeds, he will suspect evil. Allah also said: “I am in the suspicions of my servant about me.” Whatever you suspect about people, he will show you. I rarely have close relationships with people. I do not allow negative energy to influence others. I don’t listen to anyone on personal matters, I don’t give advice. Because I don’t know the situation completely, and someone’s problems and pains definitely affect me. That’s why I stay away. Don’t let someone else’s dirty aura affect your beautiful life, don’t waste your valuable time discussing the lives of worthless people.
When you bring yourself to zero, that’s when positive energy flows into you. Zero is the strongest number and state in the world. The number, which represents nothingness, emptiness and nothingness, is a very powerful number. God created man innocent. At first he was zero to sin. That’s when he was the strongest. For example, you talk about your problems, let’s say you have 10-15 problems. You don’t have a car, your health is bad, you are unhappy with your family, and so on. Is it possible to erase these when you write them down on a piece of paper? Of course it is possible. But what can’t you turn off? Zero! You can’t erase an absence from a sheet.
