Those Long Odds



As soon as someone

Moves out of

The marital home,

Those long odds

Get a lot longer.




Taylor Dibbert is a writer, journalist, and poet in Washington, DC. “In the Arena,” his third full-length poetry collection, is due out in April.

The Pussy Whip

Once upon a time, in the very heart of the Village of Greenwich, there lived a performance artist, known for her vision, manifested in striking stage pictures and bold feminist statements. She would tell you that her art was not just her work; it was a calling, emerging out of her journey from small-town midwestern girl to tour de force, with periods of victim and survivor somewhere in between.

Having lucked into a rent-controlled apartment in the ‘90s, she kept her needs modest so that she might enjoy every bit of serendipity that came her way. And, oh, did it ever. Learning early on that she could give herself a fuller life than “a good man” might, she relished in her freedom to travel the globe, staging performances, be they sanctioned or rogue, speaking her truth in a manner so memorable as to land her on the cover of many a magazine.

Then, there came a time that she found herself sidelined with mysterious symptoms that no doctor could diagnose. Thus, the hours that were once spent beneath the Washington Square Park arch, advocating for the visibility of women, the neurodivergent and the gender non-binary were whiled away in her double bed, reading and dreaming up pieces that she began to wonder if she’d ever have the opportunity to perform.

Ever the resilient one, she buoyed herself with fresh flowers, dinners of Instacarted supermarket sushi and Netflix Originals; yet, as time passed, the phone seldom rang, for her friends and colleagues quickly tired of asking after her health. Once a handful of invitations had been declined, they stopped coming. The magazines and theatres, of course, simply had no interest in her beyond the impact of her work.

On a visit to one of the doctors who found himself at a loss as to how to help her, she merely shrugged when he asked how she was doing.

“I feel like I’m disappearing,” she said.

“Perhaps an antidepressant would help,” he suggested. “I’m happy to write you a prescription.”

“I appreciate that, Doctor. I really do. Of course, I was happier when I was living a full life. But, the facts are what they are. I have an undiagnosed illness, and, well, I’m not as young as I once was.”

“That’s nonsense. You’re the same woman who’s always taken the world by storm,” he assured her.

“Maybe so, but that doesn’t equate to feeling seen.”

Over the next few months, she put on a few pounds and her complexion grew quite pale as it became more difficult to make her way from her third-floor walkup down to the concrete stairs that overlooked the street. And, not but a breath after her fiftieth birthday, which she celebrated with her old-lady cat, Marina Abramović, by lighting a candle atop their tuna salad, her periods stopped.

Done. Fini. Once and for all.

The next morning, when she rose to brew herself a cup of gingered black tea, Marina Abramović began to weave her way through the woman’s legs, only to find that they were less than solid. Taken aback, the woman’s treasured feline brought her paw to her heart, then dashed off, mewling as she took shelter in the cubby of her carpeted tree.

“Well, okay, then,” the woman scoffed with a roll of her eyes. “Be that way.”

Once the tea had steeped, the woman tossed the spent leaves into the sink, and after an invigorating first sip, made her way to the shower.

Setting the teacup next to the tap, she fingered the yellow stains in the porcelain, where more than a few cigarettes had burned down while applying her makeup for any one of those old nights on the town.

Then, she turned the shower on to warm, whipped off her nightie and tossed it into the hamper. An expert shot.

Taking another sip of her tea, she glanced toward the mirror, hesitantly, of course, for she refused to accept the lack of fullness within her breasts, only to find that she was . . . well, ever so slightly transparent.

And made a mental note to talk to the doctor about the Ambien.

The heat of the shower worked wonders on her muscles; and, as she stepped out onto the bath mat, she found Marina Abramović waiting on the toilet seat, eager to nuzzle her knees as if in apology.

“No worries, Girlfriend,” she said, mussing the loose skin on her scruff.

It all happened, in the grand scheme of things, gradually. Relativity being relative, after all. And, not a week later, the woman found herself to be as invisible as a princess’s pantyline.

Yet, Marina Abramović, fortunately, seemed to have worked through her issues. Though she wasn’t quite sure where to rub, she managed to hold vigil over the woman’s form, regardless.

“I’m not dying, for Goddess’s sake,” the woman protested as the cat remained glued to her undelineated side. “We just need to play the circumstances to our advantage.”

And that’s when performance art became more than performance. It became magic.

Over the next couple of months, the woman and Marina Abramović crafted a piece that made all of her earlier works look like child’s play.

And, when it was ready, the woman placed a call to Désirée la Bombacere at the Fiefdom of MoMA, advising her of what they had to offer.

“I thought you’d retired,” Ms. la Bombacere said upon her return call.

“Who told you that?”

“Well, we just assumed–.”

“Yeah, that’s never a good idea.”

Thus, on April 7th of 2024, the woman and Marina Abramović presented “The Pussy Whip,” a work that would go down as the most influential one-cat show in history. Those courageous enough to take a seat within the audience departed with their greatest fears and desires exposed, as well as their judgments and dismissals, for in a very short span of time, they witnessed the grains of their own depravity, which they worked so hard to deny; and, as they exited the space with their panties either wet or soiled, one couldn’t help but to notice distinct feline bite marks gracing each ankle.

And, from that moment forward, no one dared to disregard a pussy, no matter what her age, her physical limitations or her lived experience, ever again ‘til the very end of time.

                                     Part 1: The Heist

In the dark alleys of the city, two figures walked quickly, their steps quiet on the sidewalk. One was Max, a notorious criminal known for his slick moves and silver tongue. The other was Detective John Reynolds, a seasoned cop who was well-liked for his intellect and toughness.

Max grimaced as he opened the jewelry store door and disabled the alarm. “This is going to be easy,” he said to himself.

Reynolds watched Max from a distance, narrowing his eyes as he waited for the moment to strike. He had been keeping an eye on Max for weeks. As Max slipped inside, Reynolds radioed for backup and followed suit, slipping quietly into the store.

Nahyean Bin Khalid is a student of grade eight in Harimohan Government High School, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh.

Ensuring human rights by improving the legal profession

         Abstract: The new development strategy of Uzbekistan envisages the effective organization of independent advocacy activities. Protecting the rights, freedoms and legal interests of citizens in judicial and investigative activities is an urgent task today. In this regard, the “Concept of Independent Advocacy” should be developed and put into practice. At all stages of the investigation and trial, the role of the lawyer should be increased, the independence of the bar institute, the effective protection of the rights and legal interests of lawyers should be ensured. The main purpose of writing this article is to ensure that lawyers provide timely and quality qualified assistance to citizens by improving the Institute of Advocacy in Uzbekistan.

Key words: advocacy, legal aid, human rights, legality, independence, self-management, modern information and communication technologies, concept of independent advocacy, digital advocacy.

The goal of ensuring the interests of people, their rights and freedoms is embodied in the center of politics run by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. In recent years, in our country, a large-scale effort aimed at providing reliable guarantees of protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens, first of all, from criminal aggression, as well as to prevent discrimination of a person, his honor and dignity, and limitation of his legal interests things are being done consistently. As stated in the book “Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan” by the head of our state, “The Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan envisages the effective organization of the independent legal profession. Protecting the rights, freedoms and legal interests of citizens in judicial and investigative activities is the most important task today.”

The 19th goal of the development strategy is to “fundamentally increase the capacity of the Bar Institute to protect human rights, freedoms and legal interests, as well as fully satisfy the demand of the population and business entities for qualified legal services.”

To achieve this priority goal, the following tasks are defined:

first, to transfer the bar institute to a full-fledged self-management system and to attract young qualified personnel to the bar;

secondly, to strengthen the accountability of the governing bodies of the Chamber of Advocates to the community of lawyers;

thirdly, formation of the modern and institutional basis of the lawyer training system;

fourthly, digitalization of advocacy activities. In other words, to put an end to excessive bureaucracy and red tape by introducing modern information technologies to advocacy activities, to establish the exchange of electronic documents with courts, law enforcement bodies and other state bodies;

fifthly, it is envisaged to expand the scope of free legal assistance.

In order to improve the institution of advocacy in our republic as an important component of the legal system, programs aimed at increasing the participation and importance of lawyers in the consideration of criminal, civil, administrative and economic cases, as well as ensuring the guarantees of reliable protection of the rights, freedoms and legal interests of individuals and legal entities is being implemented. The legal framework necessary for lawyers to successfully carry out their professional activities is being consistently formed, and the system of providing legal assistance and legal advice services is being improved.

To date, the status of the legal profession has been further strengthened in the newly revised Constitution, and a separate Chapter 24 entitled “Law Firm” has been added.

At this point, if we analyze the provisions related to the legal profession defined in the newly revised Constitution, the legal profession operates to provide qualified legal assistance to individuals and legal entities in accordance with Article 141 of the Constitution.

Advocacy activities are based on the principles of legality, independence and self-management.

The procedure for the organization of the Bar Association and its activity is determined by law.

In this article, the activities of the legal profession are based on the principles of legality, independence and self-governance at the level of the Constitution. In this case, the legality of the lawyer’s activity means that the lawyer’s activity is carried out only in strict compliance with the law.

According to Article 5 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Guarantees of Advocacy and Social Protection of Lawyers”, the independence of a lawyer: granting him permission to practice law, suspension and termination of this activity,

lawyer’s immunity;

prohibiting the requirement to disclose the lawyer’s secret;

responsibility for interfering with the lawyer’s work or violating the lawyer’s privacy;

provided by the state through the provision of legal guarantees and social protection.

According to Article 142 of our Constitution, it is not allowed to interfere with the activity of a lawyer while he is performing his professional duties.

Conditions for the lawyer to meet with the person under his protection without obstacles and to give advice are provided.

A lawyer, his honor, dignity and professional activity are under the protection of the state and are protected by law.

The strengthening of non-interference in the lawyer’s professional activity at the constitutional level serves as an important factor in creating a strong legal system. This provision is a constitutional expression of the idea that “no office shall interfere with the activities of lawyers”. This norm ensures that the lawyer enters into an equal discussion with the prosecutor during the court proceedings, and as a result of not interfering with the activities of collecting and presenting evidence in the case, the legal status of the bar is strengthened.

Freedom in advocacy and elimination of any obstacles not only eases the lawyer’s work, but also ensures the legal rights and interests of the person whom the lawyer protects.

It should be recognized that the many changes made to the Constitution, especially the innovations in the field of “Advocacy” have pleased the lawyer community of our country. Because the legal status of the legal profession and advocacy activities is defined in a separate chapter of our Constitution, it means that the position of lawyers in society is being raised to a higher level.

At the same time, in the new version of our Constitution, the lawyer, his honor, dignity and professional activity are protected by the state, and the status of lawyers as an important person who ensures justice has been strengthened by a document with high legal force at the level of the Constitution.

A number of other important documents are being developed in our country to increase the capacity of the legal institute. In my opinion, one of them is the need to develop the Code of Advocacy. All laws and normative legal documents related to the field should be embodied in this code.

The legal basis of the legal service sector is also being improved. In particular, drafts of the laws “On the contractual legal framework and legal service” and “On free legal aid”, as well as the concept of comprehensive legal protection of the population are being prepared.

Intensive work is being done on the preparation of the concept of an independent legal profession. The concept, in particular:

— Strengthening the role of the lawyer in protecting the rights, freedoms and legal interests of citizens at all stages of the investigation and trial;

— To further improve the activities of the Chamber of Advocates, to ensure its literal independence, to transfer the legal institute to a fully self-management system, to increase the accountability of the governing bodies of the Chamber of Advocates to the community of lawyers, to introduce young and qualified professionals to the system attraction

— includes tasks in the main areas such as the development of “digital advocacy”.

The following tasks are being implemented for the development of Digital Advocacy in our country:

firstly, introduction of modern information and communication technologies to advocacy activities;

secondly, to establish an electronic exchange of information between the legal profession, court and law enforcement bodies, and other state bodies in order to ensure the rapid acquisition of information necessary for the implementation of advocacy activities;

thirdly, to expand the possibilities of providing online legal assistance to individuals and legal entities by lawyers through a special information program;

fourthly, it is important to note that it is necessary to create information systems, databases and other software products necessary for the activities of the legal profession and to ensure comprehensive protection and confidentiality of the information stored in them.

It is very important to introduce modern information and communication technologies to the Advocacy system in Uzbekistan. Consequently, the new steps in this regard allow to increase the independence of the legal institute from state bodies and other structures by eliminating the human factor in the system’s operation.

Advocacy is not a state body, but a community of skilled professionals who know their work well and deeply understand the responsibility of their duties. In this sense, I would like to put forward the following suggestions:

firstly, Advocacy Day – setting the date of the professional holiday of representatives of the lawyers’ community;

secondly, establishment of the badge “The best lawyer”;

thirdly, to create a comprehensive, open and reliable source of information, which will be useful not only for citizens, but also for law enforcement agencies and courts, through the creation of the “Unified State Register of Lawyers”

fourth, strengthening the training of lawyers and the issue of staff shortage

fifthly, special importance should be given to issues such as the training of lawyers in higher educational institutions in the field of law, the introduction of the “Law of Advocacy” training course, and the organization of internships for students in the field of advocacy.

In short, the 1996 Law on Advocacy was the most comprehensive law regulating the practice of lawyers for more than 20 years and remains so. The biggest problem in the field is that from the day the law was adopted until today, its implementation has not been sufficiently ensured, and the disrespectful attitude of the employees of the judicial and legal sector to the person of a lawyer has extinguished the interest of future personnel to take up this profession, and they are only interested in the profession of prosecutors and judges. caused an increase. In my opinion, a lawyer is a person who performs one of the main roles in the judicial process. . According to the current law, lawyers are hired to provide free legal aid by the state only for criminal cases. In my opinion, I would suggest providing a lawyer to provide free legal services not only in criminal court cases, but also in economic, administrative and civil cases.

 REFERENCES:

1. human rights.uz New Uzbekistan Advocacy: Development strategy.

2. Peculiarities of the development of Nauchniyimpuls.ru Institute of Advocacy.

3. xs.uz The role of the legal profession in our newly revised Constitution.

4. uzlidep.uz

5. uzbekistan-geneva.ch

6. Article 5 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Guarantees of Advocacy and Social Protection of Lawyers”.

7. lex.uz

If take a pen in my hand,

if I start writing a poem,

My hand trembles when l draw you.

Grandfather Navoi,

the Sultan of the Ghazal estate,

the Gardener of Poetry,

the glory of the whole world.

You left us a legacy, epics of Khamsa

We learn by reading,

We will be like Navoi.

Azimova Munisa, a pupil of the 7th class of the 20th school of Bukhara City. More about historical Uzbek poet and linguist Alisher Navoiy.

Invited Hoop Chalk Canary Beach Tomb

sublime,
          a preface snorkel pucker [wrench
                       wrecks PuMpKiN storefront
]. Elegant layered hunting
                               squabble,
                    nightmare         quack
     quirk                                     quickening.
Docked
        formulated bAg O’ boneyard
                       root toot-toot
                                       scOOp! Badge of
comatose monkey pawn
          , scrubbing pan fried leaning
                                               tEnT pole adverb
crunch [
             lookalike fictional solution dresser
                                                               ]. Passage
without weary altitude smokescreen
                           (jargon) / (football) / (weeds) / / / / /.
      Linger,
a lark on a pedestal handshake
                                      briskly succumbed.




Tarmac Blossoming Relentless Cursive Mummies

sweet puzzle
        my muzzle
locking jaw
        bird spinach
                    , all night’s variable swinging
              , tired & heaving whimpered sleeves

)eager heavenly, complaining( - - -

                       abandon sickle
                           , humming disobedient cleavers,
dramatized lists
& vague pubic analysis.

                        [sleep prevails wispy sparks /
                              ponderous wired teeth decay
       / welts
         map
         the veins of falsehoods / ,
                   tales venting
                   capitalistic burnings].

cipher mangled
destructive paradigms
               liver breached dynamics
               spooling wafted elegance:

                                  changing skin tagged
                                  cherry flavored tattoos
                                  loaded down replenished
      , avoidance caliber spots.  





Possible Punctuation Atrocities

                      f
                      r
                      e
                      e     f , a , i , l , i , n , g      sInK
                                sTOPPer             : :      rushing
                                                                     eclectic
                                                                     trolley. Living
kitchen nail gun w/in festivities
                                       ,,      carriage
      cr
         owd   ed             earthbound           raven
                       : : scorching philosophical
                           roundabouts     : :    pressurized
                                                                     zealots
, , , unleashed mongoose brat
                 : sprig
                       of sealion couch






Re=told Coil

              Deviant splash
, a swoosh       /            handsome
                         pLot       to     ridicule
fistfuls of pampered
                           pollutants   .   Break
> faster still <  , ,  sentence
                       withers
                                 layer UPON layer , , , ,
        BOZO : : : : :
‘hereafter floating less an empire
             strutting chaotic weeping’

. May
     , spring autumnal clocks. Softly
                  spoiling evidence
                  nearest drowning
                  suits drifting, ,
                                       re=stated , ,
pulsation Beaver cloud watches
making business strangulations

                          Known   ,   reverted   ,
               choosing         cluster          ,  ,
revoked Nail file drop ceiling
                               blush,
                                      ing. Sightless
            beholden post-capsized
                       cupboard.




Lacked a Heaving Nostril Fan Blade Widening 

morning trail quiver
            & WINK
     fashion           bug        released
the                           handy           screeching
        puzzle boxes
   without                     bodily                 igloo
formation      greed 
                            simplified    chest    to    drench
         ratio of looping
                                channel            surfing
dunce                              nightingale 
               apt purple                                 cubed
     lobster                  pupil
                                             sickening
trench            watch                         reeling
                                     daughter
             destiny                         ladder            grin
slope
                bot          popping              seconds
       beyond      rocking
                                              prep                      school
                    martyrdom
                                                      pipe




Joshua Martin is a Philadelphia based writer and filmmaker, who currently works in a library. He is member of C22, an experimental writing collective. He is the author most recently of the books Prismatic Fissures (C22 Press), peeping sardine fumes (RANGER Press) and [Ruptured] >> Schematic <<  MAZES (Sweat Drenched Press). He has had numerous pieces published in various journals. You can find links to his published work at joshuamartinwriting.blogspot.com

Still burning black, the dizzy morning stretches vastly across the infinite and wakes me up with a rush of its torpidity. It is infectious and I am unwilling to quit my slumbering position. Why should I quit this lull, this rest, this magnanimity of nothingness and descend into the littleness of life that swims without an iota of comfort? What little courage I have, I must use it, extra hours must be a possibility. For if I wake, it’s for the sake of this morning which is dizzy with it’s sleeping run of sweltering glow. I will not go gently into this day, I war with the giddiness of weak bones and an excessively crushed spirit.

    The scion of a sleepy eyed warrior is to be feared for laziness is more effective than hard work in the right hands. What I would do with my match stick, and my blunt and hard cock and other miscellanies would tear the world away from itself and at the same time, would mean nothing. None of it would matter, indeed, none does matter as much as a somnambulant passion, an unconscious dog burrowing his snout in stinking sand, digging and pissing, that’s why I wish to sleep. I badly wish to sleep and I would return to the rays of my slumber if only the bus of life was directed towards that destination. What is the use of waking when man, in his infinite finiteness, only truly spreads his pinions when he dreams? What is waking but a torment, a mosquito sucking the aspirations from every vein treading the mirrorless earth. It is my intention through these verses (for consider this bad poetry unversified), to sleep while I wake, to bite back the skin of the mosquito and drone and disturb it’s ears. To curse this circus is to mock the thin thread and what higher goal should man aspire towards in this gamut of deception we call wake. Eating the muck that makes up the bug which sucks our blood.

    Everything, everything that moves and breathes secretly secretes a wish for death as they progress through time. It’s like they grow weary and purposely slip, hoping they crack their thinking skulls on the porcelain; like they were tired of thinking and would gladly give away the faculty for it. Like it, a burden rather cast away, had done it’s time. It had always done its time; thinking. My eyes are tired of seeing and I wish I could close them, forever and dream of nothingness or of a Hera’s plump breasts. Whichever soothes the mood I am at that moment– nothingness for ennui; the poetic breasts, well, is for everything else. And like a cockroach, seeking death at every turn, hungry for a corpse of food, hungry to be a corpse of food, I hasten towards the pails of soothe to bathe me in its gushing enshroud. Fogs, clouding against the backdrop to sanctify my choices; to be or not to be, rather to be or to perish and gloat in the perishing– rise like buildings half decimated, half eager to be seen. And in the hubbub of the court of life, I ignore the fog, the sanctity, the choices brought to the steps of my bolted door and I choose slumber; the peace of it, the comfort of assurance. And does this make me an impotent pretender, who even in his parts– the pretense, is made impotent, or raw, like the secretion of all that moves and breathes, that aspires to flee from hunger? Does it make me be? Am I– in the indelible food truck of laughter, laughing at myself, throwing a mock at everything, even this bedsheet, rumpled from giving me repose, while wishing I was an acolyte of something; my trusts saving me from the deliriums of free will?

    At the edge of the shore the waves merge with the thirsty sand and it’s saltwater provokes parching through delicate care. The waves hopes it’s tides of love, which it repeatedly bathes the shores with, would one day sate it’s love, pacify her, relentlessly bring her to the four walls of a gentle climax. But each act of kindness, each touch of thoughtfulness only worsens the state of the shores. But to protest at this point, (if even it could do that, as all protest is a mask of dissatisfaction which leads to more tedium,) is a futile activity. It could even be termed rash; so the shores die in silence. No wonder the pallidity of the beach so stuns us we inevitably fall for it. All men long for woe in their massification, and thrive within the tokens of dry bones self destruct gets from pity, but the men who last… No man lasts, but all unconsciously believe they will.

    All girls are lesbians, but I must wake now from my waking dream. Aurora begins to sieve her provocative rays through the meshes in the window, laying siege to my thoughts. It gilds my room with a flood of light this sunlight. I have not consulted the time. I hate the time for it reminds me of my minuteness and makes me wish so badly I am god– above time and more mean spirited, like a fish that devours the reeds, man and other fishes. This wish targets his aloneness most of all: imagine controlling the world, watching naked bodies, envious: far above the threshold yet close enough to judge. I don’t mind god too much because I don’t know much of him and I don’t believe that any man could know God better than I know God, if he did exist. Pale face that shames the sun, a dick with the seed of stars and buckets of galaxies, time in his pocket, a haughty nature which still is revered? Why give excuses for God while the same characters are disdained in man, and even give God veneration? What makes him of better stock when I exist and he does not? For to exist is to be in this world, and to be in this world props more honor than any transcendence ever will. Death is a nullification as well as all things in the unknown alter; all forms beyond the void.

    To survive the melancholia, the wake, the aches in a blunted finger, to walk a distance under the blazing sun and still love it. God! Why should one not love life and hold it’s beauties however tedious, to greatest esteem. The cutting sunlight, like a knock on the head, begins to discipline me to efficacy, begins to steer me towards stirring from the bed. Still my leaden feet resists, my eyes are shut, still shooting towards sleep and I wish to dream forever.

Iduoze Abdulhafiz is a poet, playwright, short story writer and philosopher. His works delves into themes of introspection and existential questions. In them he explores profound emotions such as grief, longing, ecstasy, the divine and other worldly issues. 

He hopes that through his writing, he brings some form of sate or a glim of light, to the reader reading his work.

Many of his works contemplate issues of existence using metaphorical imagery and philosophical reflections. He has been published in the ekonke magazine.