Poetry from Daniel De Lucie

Voracious Time

Time is a beast which no one can slay

Time’s moving forward with no delay

Time is a river that cannot be dammed

Time won’t be stayed by the mightiest hand

Time is an appetite always unsated

Time is never destroyed or created

Time is an enemy never defeated 

Time is experience never repeated

Time swallows all and nothing escapes it

Time never changes we cannot erase it

Time is the thing that makes us all equals

Time happens once without any sequels

Poetry from Natalie Bisso

Light-skinned woman with red hair in a ruffled lacey black top with white dangling earrings and a yellow and green flower on her left shoulder.

JUST

It’s just that I miss you …

A warm evening smells of lilac,

And invitingly meeting lovers,

A nightingale crooning gasps,

A May evening, spring without being embarrassed.

May evening and a branch of lilac,

We inhale the scents of flowers,

You lightly touched knees,

And a hot desire embraced,

There are shadows on the green grass.

Your touch is so welcome.

It’s just that I’m flying into the Water with my head,

Just, I can hear your breathing.

It turned out to be my fate,

Then, in love with me, your confession.

It’s just that I miss you,

Every hour without you is no joy to me,

I’m drawing our meeting in my dreams,

And I hide a careless weakness,

Letting go into the hustle and bustle of the city.

——

ПРОСТО

Просто, я по тебе скучаю…

Тёплый вечер сиренью пахнет,

И  призывно влюблённых встречая,

Соловьиным напевом ахнет,

Майский вечер, весны не смущаясь.

Майский вечер и ветка сирени,

Мы вдыхаем цветов ароматы,

Ты слегка прикоснулся к коленям,

И горячим желанием объяты,

На зелёной траве чьи-то тени.

Так желанны твои прикасания.

Просто, в омут лечу с головою,

Просто, слышу твоё дыханье.

Оказалось моею судьбою,

То, в любви мне, твоё признание.

Просто, я по тебе тоскую,

Каждый час без тебя мне не в радость,

Я в мечтах нашу встречу рисую,

И скрываю беспечную слабость,

Отпустив в суету городскую.

——————————————————————————————

Απλά μου λείπεις…

Απλά μου λείπεις…

Ένα ζεστό βράδυ μυρίζει λιλά,

Και προσκαλώντας τους εραστές,

Το άσμα του αηδονιού θα λαχανιάσει,

Μάιος βράδυ, άνοιξη χωρίς αμηχανία.

Το βράδυ του Μαΐου και ένα κλαδί λιλά,

Εισπνέουμε τις μυρωδιές των λουλουδιών,

Αγγίξατε  γόνατα,

Και μια καυτή επιθυμία αγκάλιασε,

Υπάρχουν σκιές στο πράσινο γρασίδι.

Το άγγιγμά σας είναι τόσο ευπρόσδεκτο.

Απλώς πετάω στην πισίνα με το κεφάλι μου,

Απλά, ακούω την αναπνοή σου.

Αποδείχθηκε ότι ήταν η μοίρα μου,

Τότε, ερωτευμένος μαζί μου, η ομολογία σου.

Απλά μου λείπεις.,

Κάθε ώρα χωρίς εσένα δεν είναι χαρά για μένα,

Ζωγραφίζω τη συνάντησή μας στα όνειρά μου,

Και κρύβω μια απρόσεκτη αδυναμία,

Αφήνοντας να πάει στη φασαρία της πόλης.

President of the International Literary Association “Creative Tribune”(ILACT),
Head of the German Branch of the Writers’ Union NA,

Dr. Hc Natalie Bisso

Президент Международной Литературной Ассоциации “Творческая Трибуна”(МЛАТТ), Руководитель Германского Отделения СПСА, Академик,

Dr. Hc Натали Биссо

Poetry from Stephen House

leaf-blowers

the area i live in ripped out much native growth and planted introduced plane trees /  i’m told they grow fast and the summer green shades and some think they are pleasing to look at / towards winter their leaves fall as other non-native leaves do and the roads and paths are covered / ankle deep and all over the place and then the leaf-blowers begin with their madness / and horrible it is that buzzing and whirring as obsessed leaf-haters blow their machinery / into piles and lines making me wonder is it only me who hates that noise / i wish they’d forget the leaves that have dropped and let them sit or exit with wind / and it brings up the issue of wouldn’t it make more sense to have native trees on our roads instead / trees that stay with their leaves all year and are suited to the four season climate / giving homes to many indigenous creatures including an array of insects and birds / i don’t get the leaf-blowing of leaves or the addiction to non-native trees / although i’d say whatever the trees growing leaf-blowers would still be using their blowers / i’m convinced leaf-blowers love blowing the leaves to create that terrible sound / all i can say is i don’t understand leaf-blowers or the leaf-blowing they love //

Stephen House has won many awards and nominations as a poet, playwright, and actor. He’s had 20 plays produced with many published by Australian Plays Transform. He’s received several international literature residencies from The Australia Council for the Arts, and an Asialink India literature residency. He’s had two chapbooks published by ICOE Press Australia: ‘real and unreal’ poetry and ‘The Ajoona Guest House’ monologue. He performs his acclaimed monologues widely. Stephen had a play run in Spain for 4 years. 

Poetry from Naaman Al-Gharib

Middle-aged Middle Eastern man with dark thinning hair, clean shaven, in a light brown coat, holding up his hand and facing the camera.

Intellectual Coma

At the epicenter of this moment, humanity is manifesting itself in its most glorious form, but not in the light of a blazing mind or in the purity of a transcendent spirit. Rather, it is in the shadow of a profound crisis that is shaking the foundations of its existence. We might think that all this intellectual noise ravaging the earth is merely a passing phenomenon, but what is happening is far more dangerous. We live in a cosmic epic, where the earth is burning within itself, the heavens are trembling, and everything, even silence, is witness to the madness of existence.

We live in a time when grand ideologies are disintegrating, and the illusions we have planted in minds over the centuries are shattered. We see every idea in conflict with the next in a vicious circle of confusion. Those human desires that once revolved around sublime human values ​​are now nothing but lies propagated by power and greed. What have we done with the mind? Is it still the light that illuminated the paths of philosophers, or have we turned it into a mirage pursued by those racing toward the unknown? Do minds now mean anything, or have they been transformed into nothing more than gigantic machines that produce meaningless noise, revolving in closed circles without meaning?  The End

We are drowning in a kingdom of intellectual coma, where wars are accelerating across the geography of consciousness, while souls are being sold in opportunistic markets, and man becomes a mere number in an equation he did not establish. Is it the march of sin, or does the earth reflect a mirror of our age, which is drowning in its depths, unable to comprehend this abyss towards which we are heading? Is it a wave surging from the depths of humanity, drowning everything in a sea of ​​unfathomable madness?

And what about those gods we have created with our own hands? Do they truly reflect sublime values, or is what we consider faith merely an echo of the call of the absent crowds? The earth explodes in deep screams of death, and we stand on the edge of the abyss. Every time we try to catch our breath, we find ourselves captive to the fear that has taken root within us over the ages. Yes, it is the epic of evil spirits, but we are the ones writing its chapters with the ink of our blood.

Nothing at this moment seems stable or subject to rational explanation. Everything revolves in a vicious circle, as if the earth itself, with all its creatures and things, is shedding endless tears.  It is a tragedy written by the hand of time, which knows neither mercy nor forgiveness.

In this cosmic turmoil, we are immersed in a state of astonishment at what is happening, not only because of the magnitude of the catastrophe, but also because we are unable to understand it, as if we are trying to unravel a complex puzzle while we live at its heart, unaware that it is time that is leading us, not the other way around.

Naaman Al-Gharib

Iraq

Synchronized Chaos First March Issue: Oh, the Humanity!

Silhouettes of over a dozen people lining up to hold hands and stand straight on a beach peninsula at sunset or sunrise. Clouds and the glowing sun, reflection in water.
Image c/o Omar Sahel

Poet Pat Doyne invites writers to enter the Tor House poetry contest. Submissions must be sent via snail mail to the address in the link and postmarked by March 15th.

Poet Eva Petropolou shares that Our Poetry Association, an international writers’ collective, has opened submissions for its spring contest, with a theme of justice.

Poet and essayist Abigail George, whom we’ve published many times, shares the fundraiser her book’s press has created for her. She’s seeking contributions for office supplies and resources to be able to serve as a speaker and advocate for others who have experienced trauma or deal with mental health issues.

Synchronized Chaos Magazine also encourages you to watch short videos of international authors, artists, and activists interviewed on the Xena World chat show, including several of our contributors.

Poet Annie Finch seeks assistance with training a new app that will identify and teach different forms of poetic scansion. She’s looking for people who know how to do scansion manually to go over the collection of poems in the training set.

Essayist and poet Chimezie Ihekuna seeks a publisher for his children’s story collection Family Time. Family Time! is a series that is aimed at educating, entertaining and inspiring children between the ages of two and seven years of age. It is intended to engage parents, teachers and children with stories that bring a healthy learning relationship among them.

Essayist Jeff Rasley’s new book is out: It’s a story inspired by my own experience of a sophisticated California kid transferring to my grade school in the small town of Goshen, Indiana in 1965. It did not go well, when the new kid challenged the “gang” of kids who thought they were the cool kids who ruled the playground. For most of us, it was a blip in our lives. But one boy never recovered. 

It is a short story, just 25 pages. So it only costs $2.99 for the ebook and $9.99 for the paperback. For some of you, it may evoke nostalgia for a time gone by (like using Juno instead of gmail). For others, it will be historical fiction from a strange time and place.
Check it out at https://www.amazon.com/Came-Parkside-School-Jack-Thriller-Mystery-Romance -ebook/dp/B0DY9TKL6V

Contributor Kelly Moyer has a new book out, Mother Pomegranate and Other Fairy Tales for Grown-Ups. It includes the piece “The Pussy Whip” which she sent to Synchronized Chaos, as well as many other stories. It’s available here.

Contributing poet and Pushcart nominee Kurt Nimmo’s new book Texas and New Mexico: Selected Poems 2015-2025 is out and available here.

Our April 1st issue will be crafted by co-editor Kahlil Crawford. He’s a poet, musician, and essayist who has put together previous issues on Latin Culture and Electronic Music.

Chevalier's Books. Front of the store with glass windows showcasing all sorts of books. Store's name is in gold script letters on a dark pink painted background.

In March we will have a presence at the Association of Writing Programs conference in L.A. which will include an offsite reading at Chevalier’s Books on Saturday, March 29th at 6 pm. All are welcome to attend!

So far the lineup for our reading includes Asha Dore, Douglas Cole, Scott Ferry, Linda Michel-Cassidy, Aimee Suzara, Reverie Fey, Ava Homa, Michelle Gonzalez, Terry Tierney, Anisa Rahim, Katrina Byrd, Cindy Rinne, Norma Smith, and Kelliane Parker.

Black on yellow announcement for STAY WP on March 28-30th, typewriter clip art picture on the right.

Author Justin Hamm is hosting a FREE online literary event the weekend of AWP, known as StayWP. This will include author talks, informative panels, book launches and networking!

To register, please click here: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSe0jqgxfQn…/viewform…

Human of indeterminate gender with a rainbow of colors of paint bursting out of his/her head. Image in profile.
Image c/o Gerd Altmann

Now, for the first March issue, Oh, the Humanity!

Paul Tristram, like Whitman, sings of himself with easy confidence and exhilaration in life’s experiences. Philip Butera’s poetry speaks to the masks we wear and finding the courage to be authentic. Grzegorz Wroblewski digs deep into our fleshy reality, addressing the “meat” of our existence and our bodies’ undeniable needs. Tojiyeva Muxlisa also looks at our bodies, outlining common gynecological diseases and their treatments.

Dr. Prasanna Kumar Dalai’s poetry explores human emotion: romantic attraction, loneliness, grief, and confidence. Kendall Snipper speaks to the small and large sensations that bring back memories. Stephen Jarrell Williams looks back at the ‘paradise’ of his hometown in a moment of nostalgia. David Sapp recollects the wildness and local color of his boyhood days.

Kylian Cubilla Gomez’ photography captures a sense of whimsy and joy. A cat, Jean-Paul Moyer, partners with poet Kelly Moyer to create splashy, colorful paintings by moving paint around on canvas.

Life meets art in Alan Catlin’s work, as he recollects bits of his past and how he engaged with literary movements and cultural icons. Mark Young evokes moments of change, evolution, and decision in his poetry, as characters grapple with taking stock of themselves. Alaina Hammond’s drama explores the tension and commonalities behind practitioners of different art forms, and how and why they chose their crafts.

Umida Haydaraliyeva expresses the creative joy of an emerging author. Muhabbat Abdurahimova speaks to a poet’s quest for inspiration. Chris Foltopoulos’ guitar plucks out dulcet tones on his experimental music project Arpeggios. Chuck Taylor turns to writing as one of many ways to find solace during fits of insomnia.

Mahbub writes of a dream journey through gardens and his early childhood as Rus Khomutoff’s visual poetry takes us on a dreamlike quest through the beauty and mystery and riddle of our existence. Chuck Kramer’s work comes from a speaker of a certain age reflecting on their life and its meaning, finding purpose through experience teaching young children.

Ilhomova Mohichehra offers up her gratitude to her teacher. Bibikhanifa Jumanazarova poetizes about her mother’s wisdom and gentleness. Ibrahimova Halima Vahobjonovna celebrates the lifelong love and devotion of her mother as Sevinch Abirova contributes a piece of love and appreciation for a younger family member. Mirta Liliana Ramirez points out how she learned and got stronger from her past experiences, even from people who were not kind to her. Lilian Dipasupil Kunimasa speaks to the power of kindness and friendship, even online friendship across the distance, to affect our lives.

Yellow female-looking faces with bits of blue and red and orange blending into each other. Stylized art where faces overlap and share features.
Image c/o Gerd Altmann

Mesfakus Salahin recollects the joy of young love on a warm evening. Xavier Womack speaks of a crush and the desire for a deep connection with a classmate. Anna Keiko speaks to the joy, strength, and staying power of true love. Jeannette Tiburcio Marquez evokes the joy and sweet surrender of ballroom dance with a romantic partner.

Kristy Raines’ poetry explores both interpersonal romantic love and human compassion for the world. Peter Cherches’ short stories probe how much we owe each other as fellow inhabitants of the planet, how far we will go for each other. Graciela Noemi Villaverde expresses her hopes and dreams for international peace among humanity, and Eva Petropolou does the same for the sake of the world’s children. She also pays tribute to her deceased father.

Dr. Adnan Ali Gujjar offers up a poetic tribute to the grace and mentorship of poet Eva Petropolou Lianou and her advocacy for peace and global justice. Dr. Jernail Anand’s essay argues for the value of art and literature for a fully developed and moral society.

Nozima Gofurova shares about an inspiring visit to one of Uzbekistan’s national centers for the visual and performing arts. Poet and magazine editor Maja Milojkovic interviews one of Serbia’s greatest living poets, Dr. Maja Herman Sekulik, on her writing journey and the need for artists to teach ethics and culture to the next generation.

Saidqulova Nozima sings of her Uzbek homeland as Munisa Azimova celebrates her Uzbek heritage and homeland in tender verse. Still others focus on the nation’s many accomplished writers. Sevinch Shukurova illustrates how the genre of poetry allowed Uzbek writer Alexander Faynberg to concisely and directly express his message. Nilufar Anvarova sends up a poem on the creative legacy of Uzbek writer and statesman Erkin Vahidov. Odina Azamqulova highlights the contributions of writer and translator Ozod Sharafiddinov to Uzbekistan’s literary heritage.

Nosirova Surayyo offers up suggestions for becoming fluent speaking in a second language. Maftuna Bozorova encourages readers to learn about other cultures through learning foreign languages. Abduraximova Farida Khomiljon examines various methods for teaching English as a second language.

Noelia Cerna, in her new poetry collection Las Piedrecitas, as reviewed by Cristina Deptula, endures great loss, abuse, and racism. She finds the strength to stand firm in her own worth as a woman and a Central American immigrant in the United States, claiming her culture and her identity.

Poet and magazine editor Maja Milojkovic interviews poet and peace activist Eva Petropolou Lianou about the power of our shared global poetic heritage to connect us.

Nafosat Nomozova draws connections among art, life, and the universal language of mathematics.

Bridge with rickety wooden planks near tufts of grass, heading towards sunlight but with gathering storm clouds.
Image c/o Omar Sahel

Lazzatoy Shukurillayeva translates a poem by historical Uzbek writer Alisher Navoi that considers the vagaries of fate. Duane Vorhees speaks with a gentle humor to both intimacy and mortality. J.K. Durick’s work comments on transience: money, moments in time, even our health will pass. Kurt Nimmo addresses forms of living death in his work alongside actual mortality: being stuck in a dead-end job, being addicted, having one’s life’s work erased.

Mykyta Ryzhykh crafts a somber, deathly world. Jacques Fleury’s protagonist drowns himself in a quest for oblivion after his mental illness drives his family away, missing some potential positive news after his passing. Alex S. Johnson’s short story character decides against suicide when he encounters “spirits” who wish they had had more time on Earth.

Paul Durand’s piece explores how Andy Warhol transcended his ordinary, vulnerable humanity through art and fame. Taylor Dibbert finds a kind of strange and transcendent solace in the fact that great authors have written about the kinds of travel mishaps he experiences.

Maftuna Rustamova reflects on life lessons from growing up poor. Joseph C. Ogbonna describes the small and large privations of life in poverty in Nigeria. J.J. Campbell speaks to his memories, life, struggles, and inevitable death. Denis Emorine’s excerpt from his upcoming novel Broken Identities addresses the long shadow of the Holocaust in the cultural and personal memories of academics and writers.

Variety of darker and lighter pigeons search for scant bits of food on hard and barren ground.
Image c/o Bachchuram Bhandari

Pat Doyne lambasts Donald Trump’s plan to take over and gentrify the Gaza Strip by displacing its impoverished residents. Bill Tope’s short story traces how casual prejudice and homophobia can lead to violence. Abeera Mirza’s poetry tells the tale of how a young wife escapes domestic violence. Bill Tope and Doug Hawley’s collaborative story also presents hope as a wife bravely confronts her husband about his behavior and he chooses accountability and sobriety.

DK Jammin’ turns to his faith for moments of grace and solace in ordinary life despite a complex and sometimes harsh world. Sara Hunt Florez recalls the constant passage of time and encourages us to make the most of what we have, even in small moments with those around us. Ma Yongbo speaks to shifting reality and impermanence, human limitations and death, and the immortality he finds through creativity.

Isabella Gomez de Diego’s photos reflect the simple joys of nature, family, home, children, and faith. Maja Milojkovic offers simple kindness to a ladybug, releasing the insect to fly and dream freely outside. Lidia Popa reaches deep inside her mind to find inner personal peace.

Sayani Mukherjee revels in the small pleasures of a spring tea party. Rasulova Rukhshona celebrates Central Asian spring Nowruz New Year with a poem about loving grandparents, flowers and birds.

Brian Barbeito’s prose piece evokes his youth and personal creative awakening. Mushtariy Tolanboyeva expresses the lament of an impatient tree who wanted to blossom, but bloomed too early before winter finished.

Two human hands, two different people, holding a pigeon on a sunny day with a few clouds in the sky.
Image c/o Omar Sahel

Daniel De Culla’s piece illuminates his love for all of the planet’s life and recognizes that each species’ existence is inter-related. Adaboyev Maqsad’s essay suggests pathways towards ecological sustainability, elucidating economic and legal means of addressing environmental issues.

Murodjon Asomidinov also discusses economics and global justice, calling for empowering the youth of the world through financial literacy education.

Z.I. Mahmud’s essay explores feminist Indian writer Amar Jiban’s writing about the struggles of older single and widowed women and the need for all women to have education as a pathway to independence and financial security. Nurmatova Aziza relates the tale of a young woman who bucks traditional gender expectations by traveling to the city for an advanced degree.

We hope that this issue will be a source of empowerment, commiseration, and merriment at the many facets of our shared humanity and our shared connection with the rest of Earth’s life.

*************

Poetry from Sayani Mukherjee

Tea

Teapots and adorable napkins
The child's soul knows no bounds
It clasps a little a lithe wards dream
A homesickness that grows in your soul
A pungent tea flavoured gift that i picked up
A flower of moth eaten daisies I charm in thee
Bottled and boat necked gifts that churn my soul
A homely affair a stage show for faint hearted
I like to knit sweaters in lulled voice
What if my voice reached you today? 
I will scramble and do the dishes the art of 
Domestic choices still I landed on my fairy tales
I daresay I will write on my behalf 
As poetry becomes a stagecraft for skin and home.