One moment 

a moment of hope saved

in the pocket of my heart.

another wait

broken word

makes room for me

locks to the beats.

the illusion spills over

clotted blood smell

means that the wound

will close eventually.

In a moment

give me the galaxies

and the next

you snatch them from me

like hurricane

decide

What do you want?

What are you going to do?

Life is a moment

mine

have an expiration date

like your words.

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.

Collaborative Renga 

Jerome Berglund (italic) 

Christina Chin (plain) 

chalk outlines

never an artist

to applaud

round the bend 

a Banksy graffiti

jewelweed

survival 

as defiance

giant caterpillars

on the leafless plants

rainstorm 

brewing tea after 

an afternoon nap 

ants jostling

for egg salad 

mango tree 

a bat clicks round 

the darkness

he doesn’t think of

deer ticks ‘til later

rainy night 

a sniffing snake 

at the window 

sometimes got to use

decorative towels 

A Pair of Feet “Caring” for a Lawn

There exists a strange group of beings,

Whose brains are said to have been blown away by the wind,

Whose souls are said to have been eroded by the rain.

They have only a pair of eyes,

A pair of feet,

And a mouth that claims a “free spirit”.

They love stepping onto the lawn,

Then stare at each other,

And keep using their mouths to accuse the sky—

“Follow the sound of my voice and look at me,

I’m the one most deserving to exist.”

Take one of them, for example:

It saw a pair of feet among the others,

Trample a blossom,

And its mouth instantly cried out:

“The flower is innocent,

The flower is pitiful,

Let’s speak up for the flower!”

Then it kept wandering,

Saw another pair of feet crush a foxtail grass,

And its mouth again cried out:

“The foxtail grass is innocent,

The foxtail grass is pitiful,

Let’s speak up for the foxtail grass!”

A large tree reminded it:

“Hold on—before you care about the foxtail grass,

That flower hasn’t been helped back up yet.”

Its mouth immediately cried out:

“The flower’s issue is in the past,

The foxtail grass is today’s breaking news,

Stop moral coercion,

Be like me—call for truth, goodness, and beauty…”

The tree continued:

“It seems like your kind says things like this every day.”

Its mouth instantly cried out:

“I don’t know,

I didn’t hear it,

I am what I am,

And I love peace…”

The tree covered its face:

“Then what about the grass you yourself trampled in the lawn?”

Its mouth instantly cried out:

“I’m only ‘caring’ for the lawn with my feet,

I never harm,

The fallen grass is a setup, a malicious frame-up…”

The tree said:

“I’ve had enough.

Each of them paces the lawn every day,

Blaming each other, bragging about themselves,

All believing their behavior is original…

I’d rather rot at the roots,

Than stay here any longer…”

Independence 

Be kind like a mother,

Your words are sweeter than the song of a nightingale, 

My soul, Uzbekistan sings, your daughter,

May your fortune be great, dear Independence. 

You are a mine of wealth, a dear place, 

You are an endless opportunity that illuminates our path, 

You are a patriot, and yet a child, May your fortune be great, dear Independence!

You are a pure-hearted believer, Motherland, 

You are a precious mountain, sky, Motherland.

You are a land of gold, Motherland, Independence, blessed soul, Uzbekistan.

My great-grandfathers are my pride, 

Navoi, Babur – he is Ogahi. Knowledge and faith are a flowing river, Independence, blessed soul, Uzbekistan. 

May my Motherland flourish and live freely, My motherland, my sacrifice, my soul.

What have I done about you – Independence, blessed soul, Uzbekistan.

Zumrad Sobirova Tohir qizi was born on April 5, 2007 in the Altinkul neighborhood of Yangibazar district of Khorezm region. She graduated from secondary school No.12 in the district with a gold medal. In addition, she participated in various competitions and festivals and achieved several successes. She received 100% certificates in general education subjects in Mother Tongue and Literature, 77% in History, and B2 level certificates in Foreign Language. She took an honorable 3rd place in the Essay Competition at the regional stage. She took an honorable 1st place in the most beautiful calligraphy category at the “Uzbek Woman” festival. She also works in poetry and prose. Her poems are reflected in the books “Ilm va ijod bo’stoni” and “Ko’zgudagi men”. In her free time, she reads fiction books. I have set main goals for myself and work hard every day to achieve them. I believe that good intentions and relentless pursuit will lead me to my dreams!

Letter To The Unknown Poet

Dear Esther,

I saw the message you sent me about your friend who is interested to be guided as a new unpublished poet. I’m also honored that you take me as someone who would be able to guide someone else. I’m honored because I myself am also a new poet, and I’m willing to help in ways I can.

 First of all, she has to see poetry as something that she does for herself first, before other people. I started writing poems just before the end of secondary school, and my poems came from sorrows and grief. I remember how we took Literature-In-English classes together and how we did so well in the arts department, and how we were among the best students. We were in the same debate club, we read together, laughed together, but it didn’t occur to me that anybody would read my works in the future and classify them as poetry. Or even classify them as anything. Yes, let me confess that I wasn’t confident. I did not have faith in my writing then. For many years I thought my writing was something that only I could enjoy, love and understand, and I was satisfied with that thought because sitting down every evening to write and pour my heart onto paper was the most glorious thing ever, something akin to prayer.

I didn’t know that I was writing poetry because even though I did literature, I wasn’t very sure if what I was writing qualified as poetry. So I would write for myself for many years as a form of therapy. Poetry helped me to heal of my emotional pain. I wrote poems to see myself, to find myself. I read other poets as sources of comfort. I was deeply introverted, and because I was very hurt in my spirit, poetry helped me to stay alive. I wrote to myself without being sure if I was doing it in the right way, without knowing what I was doing, until many years later when I got an opportunity to be published.

I’m emphasizing on writing poetry for yourself first because poetry wouldn’t make you automatically richer than you are, but it can open doors for you. It can connect you to people or your readers whom you wouldn’t have met outside your writing space. Many publications do not pay you when they publish your poems. You will be paid or earn something only when you win poetry contests, or when a publication that pays their contributors pick you up. So I want her to approach poetry as something that she does for herself first, not as something that can fetch something else.

I want her to approach poetry with humility. I want her to be kind to herself. I want her to be truthful to herself. I want her to be truly herself. Let her see poetry as something she must do, something she has to do, if she is really a poet. If she is a poet, I want her to be proud of being a poet. Let her listen more to her literary spirit. I want her to be happy. Any day she decides to send her work out to any publication, I want her to know that rejections are normal. Many publications will reject her, but she shouldn’t be discouraged. The more she is rejected the more she should write.

The Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says she writes because she has to write. In interviews, she says that even if she didn’t have the wonderful opportunities she has today to be read widely and deeply appreciated, that she would still be somewhere writing, unknown, but still, she would be writing, and this is true for every genuine and unpretentious writer. Being a published writer is a secondary aspect of being a writer. I think the first aspect is more important than the second. First of all, you have to write, and the writing has to be for yourself first, before moving into the world. You will have to love and believe in the work first, before looking for a publisher, or a publication.

If your friend the poet is Nigerian, or African, I will advise her to read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s books. If she’s not interested in big books, then she might be interested in her smaller pieces. She might follow her on her social media handles. She might also be interested in watching her interviews on YouTube. Or her popular Ted Talks, The Danger Of The Single Story, and We Should All Be Feminists.

I wish her everything good.

From Isaac Dominion Aju

Isaac Dominion Aju has appeared in different literary publications in the United States, including Poetry X Hunger, Flapper Press, and New York City’s Writers’ Journal. He will be a featured writer in Cajun Mutt Press in the US by November. He lives in Nigeria where he works as a fashion designer and writes in his free time.

The Joint-Stock Company Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine (NMMC) is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Uzbekistan, operating in the mining and metallurgical sectors. The efficient use of water resources at such large-scale industrial facilities is extremely important for both environmental sustainability and production efficiency.

In the developing world, including Uzbekistan, the rational use of water supply has become a pressing issue. As one of the largest industrial enterprises in Uzbekistan, NMMC must pay special attention to optimizing water use while maintaining environmental balance.

I believe it is reasonable to study successful strategies that have undoubtedly been implemented for conducting scientific research on this topic.

In particular, when examining the practical strategic projects of Vladimir Kvint—a prominent expert in the theory and methodology of strategy and the founder of the Russian school of strategy, Doctor of Economics, and academician—who has implemented water resource strategies in several countries including Uzbekistan, I consider the water resource management strategy of the Kuzbass region to be the best guideline in this field.

Considering the above, the following should be taken into account when managing water resources at NMMC:

• Implementation of water recirculation systems and closed-loop water supply systems;
• Collection of rainwater and installation of reuse systems for technical purposes;
• Use of modern water-saving technologies and the application of new methods to reduce water consumption in ore enrichment and metal smelting processes;
• Installation of automated monitoring systems to control water consumption in real-time;
• Establishment of strict environmental control to prevent water pollution and industrial waste from entering water sources;
• Analysis of water bodies surrounding the enterprise through regular laboratory studies;
• Implementation of international environmental management standards and extensive use of global best practices in water resource management;
• I believe that information exchange and initiatives in the field of water resources should be carried out in cooperation with the public.

In general, the implementation of such measures—including recycling systems aimed at the rational use of water in industrial activities, modernization of water supply systems, adoption of low-water-use technologies, and continuous monitoring through environmental systems—is one of the most urgent tasks today.

To conclude, water use in the operations of NMMC is one of the most important factors. Effective management of technological processes, cooling systems, and water resources for drinking and domestic needs ensures the sustainable and environmentally safe operation of the plant. In the future, it is crucial to widely introduce innovative approaches and water-saving technologies in this field.

References

1. Kvint, V. L., Zadorozhnaya, G. V., Dudovtseva, Yu. V., Alekseev, G. F., & Alimuradov, M. K. Strategizing of Kuzbass region ecological development. Kemerovo: Kemerovo State University; 2021. 416 p. https://doi.org/10.21603/978-5-8353-2797-3
2. Kvint, V. L. (2020). Theoretical foundations and methodology of strategizing Kuzbass as the most important industrial region of Russia. Economics in Industry, (3), 290–299.
3. Kvint, V. (2015). Strategy for the Global Market: Theory and practical applications. Routledge.
4. Strategizing Water Resources of Kuzbass: Monograph / Edited by V. L. Kvint. – Kemerovo: Kemerovo State University, 2021. – 388 pages. – (“Kuzbass Strategy Library” series)

THE MOTHER OF GOD

I want to gaze upon your gentle, smiling face,

as you quietly wrap your child in linen and cotton cloth.

His smile tells you

that a heavenly gift rests in your arms.

And then — a scream.

Your scream, for they are taking your Son to be killed.

I return in thought to the cradle.

You hold Him close to your chest,

singing softly as He drifts into sleep.

The next moment —

your inconsolable heart beneath the cross,

among wicked men

casting lots for the clothes He wore.

Two scenes intertwine:

life and death,

an image bearing the Son of God,

a body made into a temple.

And now… all carries the scent of death.

You loved Him with your whole being,

wished Him only good,

yet evil spun its snares

through the servants of darkness.

Only a tear of joy remains

as you lay Him in a wooden cradle:

 “Good night, my son.”

And a tear of sorrow

as you embrace His lifeless body:

“Please, call me to meet You soon.

Without You, this life has no meaning.”

It plays out endlessly,

like a film that never ends:

death, tears, salvation —

telling us: the death of the body is a beginning.

Mother of God,

Suffering One,

there is no greater pain than yours,

but no deeper comfort

than your eternal embrace.

For no suffering

is greater

than yours.

Maja Milojković was born in Zaječar and divides her life between Serbia and Denmark. In Serbia, she serves as the deputy editor-in-chief at the publishing house Sfairos in Belgrade. She is also the founder and vice president of the Rtanj and Mesečev Poets’ Circle, which counts 800 members, and the editor-in-chief of the international e-magazine Area Felix, a bilingual Serbian-English publication. She writes literary reviews, and as a poet, she is represented in numerous domestic and international literary magazines, anthologies, and electronic media. Some of her poems are also available on the YouTube platform. Maja Milojković has won many international awards. She is an active member of various associations and organizations advocating for peace in the world, animal protection, and the fight against racism. She is the author of two books: Mesečev krug (Moon Circle) and Drveće Želje (Trees of Desire). She is one of the founders of the first mixed-gender club Area Felix from Zaječar, Serbia, and is currently a member of the same club. She is a member of the literary club Zlatno Pero from Knjaževac, and the association of writers and artists Gorski Vidici from Podgorica, Montenegro.