Ode to Return

—The Four Seasons Walking Out of Ancient Dongba Scriptures

By Lan Xin (Lanxin Samei)

Internationally renowned Chinese writer and poet, the only female inheritor of Dongba culture, Dean of China Yulong Wenbi Dongba Culture Academy, Winner of the Premio Letterario Internazionale Francesco Giampietri

Dongba’s Winter
You walk out of the ancient Dongba scriptures
The nimble-flying Alangji bird
Perches on the treetop of a green tree
Shakes its body three times upward
Three pure white feathers float down
The white feathers turn into white snow
White snow is the messenger of winter
Skylarks usher in the north wind
Wagtails bring the dewdrops covering the ground
White cranes summon the snowflakes filling the sky
The diligent have shoes to wear
The lazy walk barefoot
This winter
Is not the time to migrate home
Shall we wait till the warm spring of the third lunar month?

Dongba’s Spring
You walk out of the ancient Dongba scriptures
The nimble-flying Alangji bird
Perches on the treetop of a green tree
Shakes its body three times downward
Three emerald green feathers float down
The green feathers turn into tender grass
Tender grass is the messenger of spring
Trees are clad in emerald gowns
Cuckoos sing on the branches
White muntjacs roar in the pine woods
Pheasants and hill pheasants chirp in the forest

Valiant men lack food grains
Virtuous women waste away
This spring
Is not the time to migrate home either
Shall we wait till the midsummer of the sixth lunar month?

Dongba’s Summer
You walk out of the ancient Dongba scriptures
The nimble-flying Alangji bird
Perches on the treetop of a green tree
Shakes its body three times to the left
Three jet-black feathers float down
The black feathers turn into heavy rain
Heavy rain is the messenger of summer
Slopes are covered with dense grass and woods
Even leopards and tigers with sharp claws
Cannot wander out of the deep mountains and thick forests
Beneath the tree roots down below
Rainwater merges into a river
Even otters and fish
Cannot swim across the rushing gully
This summer
Is still not the time to migrate home
Shall we wait till the golden autumn of the ninth lunar month?

Dongba’s Autumn
You walk out of the ancient Dongba scriptures
The nimble-flying Alangji bird
Perches on the treetop of a green tree
Shakes its body three times to the right
Three golden feathers float down
The golden feathers turn into yellow flowers
Flowers are the messenger of autumn
Yellow flowers, silver flowers and golden flowers
Turquoise flowers and jet-black gem flowers
Bloom everywhere across the land
This autumn
At long last
Is the time to migrate home
Chong Ren Li En, the ancestor of the Naxi (Nakhi) people

Takes his bride Chen Heng Baobai, whom he married in the heavenly realm
Back into the long-missed embrace of Mother Earth
Back to the home where humans dwell
One mother gives birth to three sons
And the three sons are all different from one another
From then on
Upon the land of humans
Three ancient ethnic groups come into being
They build a beautiful homeland together
And live in harmony and happiness

Time as Our Witness

Poem by Lan Xin (Lanxin Samei)

International Spiritual Poet, Internationally Renowned Chinese Writer and Poet, Winner of the Premio Letterario Internazionale Francesco Giampietri, the Only Female Inheritor of the World Memory Heritage Naxi Dongba Culture, Dean of the Yulong Wenbi Dongba Culture Academy of China and Lanxin Samei Academy

Dedicated to the Greek readers on Valentine’s Day, February 14, with this poem. May you and your loved ones be blessed with eternal happiness!

——Lan Xin

Three thousand years ago

You were the Lord of the Universe—the King of Kings

Known to gods and mortals alike, I was your cherished Queen

Then came the great catastrophe of the Three Realms

Tearing us apart abruptly, leaving us to grieve the love we lost

Since then, time has carried me

Across the Ten Directions and Dharmadhatus

Through six cycles of reincarnation

Reborn as a human, I walked the path of cultivation for nine lifetimes

Endured all the tribulations of the mortal world, just to meet you again

After three thousand years of wandering

I searched for you a thousand times among the crowds

And finally, today, three thousand years later

We reunite beneath the magnolia tree

Its dancing shadows whisper our ancient vows

In the moment our eyes meet

We see reflections of ourselves from three thousand years ago

And the endless search through lifetimes unfolds before us

Above the mortal world, you remain the supreme King of Kings;

Within the mortal world, you are also the finest man on earth.

Heaven and earth unite, with white cranes as their matchmakers

Sun and moon unite, with Venus as their matchmaker

Mountains and rivers unite, with gold as their matchmaker

Chestnut and pine trees unite, with bees as their matchmaker

Turquoise and black jade unite, with golden threads as their matchmaker

When you and I unite once more, who shall be our matchmaker?

Let three thousand years of time be our matchmaker

To witness our timeless love

For the rest of my life

I do not wish to return as the goddess of the Diamond Kingdom

I only wish to be the little woman in your arms

For the rest of my life

I do not wish to leave a legacy for a thousand years

I only wish to be with you, day and night

For the rest of my life

I do not wish to be a fairy in the clouds

I only wish to live fully as a mortal woman

For the rest of my life

I do not wish to be showered with thousands of affections

I only wish to nestle in the arms of you, the ultimate doting husband

For the rest of my life

I do not wish to return to the cosmic kingdom

I only wish to savor the love of this mortal world

Time as our witness

Heaven and earth as our testimony

May we be united for ten thousand years

And never part again

Still Life with Dead Zone

1-

Blackbirds at Dusk

Bare tree outlined against a brushed-of-light sky.  Blackbirds risen in flight.  Cold, 

shifting wind suggests a freezing rain, sleet changing to snow.  In the valley, the cleared

field is collecting birds.  Their gathering a strange collection of living matter among the

desiccated stumps of summer.  Long rows of them, newly sprouted like nightmares.

Moon rise with

white comet tails;

ghost light on an

empty outdoor stage

After the flight of birds, silence.  Nothing moving among the dead, leafless trees, sheared

to the stumps or broken into diseased humps, sprouting from the ground like the broken limbs of

dead soldiers planted as a warning for those who follows after. The muffled steps of what comes

after the night, their obscene bodies, their wings.

2-

Flyway

Pre-front clouds, a black fistula consuming a bent horizon.  Birds in migratory flight

flee the stilted hills, the nesting grounds.  Static electricity rubs the color from the sky.  An open

wound left behind.

Flat sky, sun torn

fabrics, black 

blood blisters.  Birds.

Incongruous tarmac at the edge of wild jungle growth baked hard by relentless sun.  Air

ground control station, elevated sniper/ guard towers overlooking the perimeter, concertina wire,

no man’s land.  Toward nightfall, a mad minute, tracer rounds instead of exotic birds flights;

incoming instead of by-air transport.

3-

Roadside Marker

Early morning still life with grazing cows.  Sun bursting off last finger of ground fog

drying the low, foraged grass.  Budding trees just beyond wending wall of rock separating fields

from drainage ditches and black topped road.  Clipped lily on white cross by bare black limbed,

skinned-of-bark tree.  A scatter of car parts. Windshield glass.

Confluence of shadow

and fog, no light

leaking through.

White stone marker embedded roadside indicates eighty-one kilometers to nowhere.

Lifting ground fog and battlefield smoke envelop cratered highway littered with discarded gear:

worn boots, torn rucksacks, unfolded blankets, ruptured canteens, tattered tents.  Along the road,

stunted trees, a long, thin barbed wire fence posted with warning signs, blackened fields of burnt

elephant grass.  Still life with dead zone.

4-

Flooded Road

Legacy of storm; a spontaneous inland sea.  Reflections of immersed objects in still

water: trees, tops of fence posts, vehicle roofs, antennae, tips as rigid as insects remains.  Clear,

cloudless sky cleansed of light.

Temporary bridges

between two shores,

water in the middle

washing them away.

Fording the river in full combat gear.  Foot soldiers holding their weapons diagonally

overhead, walking, waist high, then chest high, some totally submerged. Only the rifles, still

mostly dry, visible above the surging water.

5-

Fog and Woodsmoke

Evening haze with scent of cook stoves, fireplaces.  Houses trimmed with decorative

lights off-season; an almost unearthly glowing in near-night darkness.  Still life with cracked

blacktop and low hanging trees.  The pulsing of the overhead wires almost audible.  Nothing

moving but the smoke. The haze.  The strange rings of the overhead street lights.

Dead air with black

smoke; impossible

to breathe.

Smoke from the burning thatched huts.  The guts of cook fire spread on the hard packed

earth: embers, overturned black pot, utensils for stirring, nearby.  Last, spent remnants of 

location-marking flares amid the black, billowing smoke.  A naked baby, sitting amid the 

wreckage, screaming.

6-

Pavement Ends

Single lane of hard packed, graded rock between fenced fields.  Thick, intensifying

ground fog covering the land, obscuring the caution sign, masking the way.  Vision, at last light,

no more than a few feet forward.  Soon, the dark.

Maps without borders,

unmarked trails

have no end.

Bent-to-the-earth signs say: Extreme Caution: Minefield Do Not Enter.  A skull and

crossed bones penciled beneath the words.  Fields extending on either side of the road into the 

dark; the enclosing jungle trees beyond.  The way on either side cratered from overhead

bombing or from something explosive underneath.  Large pits with still water inside. Other

objects, as well.  Soon, the dark.

Communication between the Teacher and the “Digital Generation” (Gen Alpha): Strategic Approaches in New Era Education

​Author: Turgunova Kh.

Educational Institution: Kokand University, Andijan branch

Field: Primary Education

Course: 2nd-year student

​Abstract: This article analyzes the unique characteristics of communication between the teacher and representatives of the “digital generation” (Gen Alpha) and the strategic approaches used in new era education. The research explores the integration of digital technologies into the educational process and the importance of the teacher’s friendly relationship and psychological closeness. The results indicate the need to reshape the image of the modern teacher.

​Keywords: digital generation, Gen Alpha, teacher, primary education, digital technologies, education strategy, communication.

​Introduction

​The 21st century has started an entirely new stage for the education system. As a result of the rapid development of information technology, the deep penetration of the internet and digital devices into all spheres of life, a new generation — the “digital generation” or “Gen Alpha” — has been formed. Members of this generation differ significantly from previous generations in how they receive, process, and analyze information.

​Gen Alpha children have been growing up in a digital environment since birth. For them, smartphones, tablets, interactive games, and video content are ordinary realities. Therefore, traditional teaching methods — relying solely on textbook reading, one-way lectures, and strict control — are no longer effective.

​Particularly in the primary education stage, establishing correct communication between the teacher and the student is crucial for shaping the child’s interest in learning. From this perspective, this article scientifically analyzes the role of the teacher in working with the Alpha generation, modern education strategies, and issues of using digital technologies.

​Research Objective

​To identify strategic approaches for teachers in establishing effective communication with members of the digital generation and to reveal their impact on educational efficiency.

​Research Methodology

​The following methods of scientific cognition were used in this research:

​Analysis of pedagogical, psychological, and methodical literature;

​Comparative-analytical method to compare traditional and digital teaching methods;

​Study of the activity of digital generation students in the lesson process based on the observation method;

​Drawing conclusions through methods of generalization and systematization;

​Analysis of digital tools used in educational practice.

​Research Results

​The research results highlight the following main aspects:

​1. Characteristics of information perception in the digital generation

Gen Alpha members receive information quickly, prioritizing short and meaningful content, especially visual and audiovisual content. For them, moving images, animation, video lessons, and interactive games are considered effective.

​2. Limitations of traditional teaching methods

Lessons based only on reading text or oral explanation cause boredom in children. This leads to a decrease in attention and a decline in the quality of education.

​3. Importance of digital technologies in education

Introducing online platforms, interactive tests, educational video clips, and elements of digital gaming into the lesson process increases student activity. In such conditions, the child becomes an active participant in the lesson rather than a passive listener.

​4. Psychological closeness and communication

A friendly, open, and respect-based attitude from the teacher awakens trust in students. A child who feels that their opinion is valued approaches the educational process with responsibility.

​Discussion

​The results show that the image of the teacher is changing in the modern education system. Now, a teacher must turn into a person who is not just a provider of knowledge, but a guide, consultant, and motivator.

​In working with the Alpha generation, a student-centered educational approach based on cooperation should take the place of an authoritarian approach. Rational use of digital technologies strengthens mutual trust between the teacher and the student and increases the quality of education.

​Conclusion

​In conclusion, working with the “digital generation” requires the teacher to constantly work on themselves, master innovative approaches, and adapt to the requirements of the times. The teacher must change along with the children, speak their “language,” and understand their worldview.

​Through sincere communication, psychological closeness, and the correct use of digital technologies, educational efficiency can be increased. This, in turn, serves to raise a free-thinking, knowledgeable, and socially active generation in the future.

​References

​O’zbekiston Respublikasi Prezidenti. Yangi O’zbekiston – taraqqiyot strategiyasi. – Toshkent, 2022.

​Karimov I.A. Yuksak ma’naviyat – yengilmas kuch. – Toshkent: Ma’naviyat, 2019.

​Mirziyoyev Sh.M. Milliy taraqqiyot yo’limizni qat’iyat bilan davom ettirib, yangi bosqichga ko’taramiz. – Toshkent: O’zbekiston, 2021.

​To’xtaxodjayeva M., Jo’rayeva D. Zamonaviy pedagogik texnologiyalar. – Toshkent: Fan va texnologiya, 2020.

​Usmonova N. Boshlang’ich ta’limda innovatsion yondashuvlar. – Toshkent: Sharq, 2021.

​Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–6.

​OECD. (2019). Trends Shaping Education. Paris: OECD Publishing.

​Tapscott, D. (2009). Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation Is Changing Your World. New York: McGraw-Hill.

FORECAST:  MORE STORMTROOPERS

Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes,

land of tall, Scandinavian blondes,

now hosts a rainbow of nations—

Somalia, India, Mexico, Laos,

China, Liberia, Ethiopia, Burma,

even a large Hmong community.

But Minnesota, Star of the North,

now faces Immigration & Customs Enforcement–

four times as many ICE agents on the streets

as local police.

You can tell an ICE prowl car—

our-of-state plates,

tinted windows,

two masked gunmen inside.

ICE cruises Somali neighborhoods,

haunts Home Depot parking lots,

roams through Target,

radiates menace.

Black masks. Military weapons. 

Escalating quotas of captives.

This army of well-paid, out-of-shape thugs

targets brown faces,

asks no questions, 

ignores civil rights,

uses snatch-and-grab tactics—

with the blessings of Homeland Security

and the President. 

Civilians push back. 

First, locate an ICE vehicle. 

Follow it, honking, blowing whistles—

alerting locals to imminent danger.

Take videos of agents hassling people on the streets, in stores, at schools, at work.

Tell detainees about their rights.

Remind agents they need warrants

to enter homes, or private property.

Best case:  ICE leaves empty-handed.

Worst case:

An ICE agent approaches a fleeing car,

shoots the driver in the face

three times–

US citizen,

mother of three,

prize-winning poet,

age 37. 

Her death is collateral damage

for an ICE thug’s daily fishing expedition,

his daily search for prey. 

The killer’s excused: all in the line of duty…

Her death sparks coast to coast outrage.

Minnesota, be strong.

Be our North Star.

We see prosecutors resign in protest, 

refuse to hold victims at fault.

But we see civil rights bow to politics.

Law is no longer our friend.

Minnesota forecasts our country’s future

when a President, 

limited only by his morality–

has none. 

GRAB GREENLAND?  BAD IDEA

Erik the Red and his Norse Viking crew

happened on a frozen, windswept land

around 980. Named it “Greenland” (Hah!)

in hopes the name would lure some colonists.

Erik’s people never bought the hype.

Around 1200, Thule-Inuits

joined native tribes. The land now speaks their tongue.

Then in the 1700’s, Danish merchants

came for oil and sealskins. Many stayed.

Today Greenland controls its own affairs—

but Denmark is in charge of all defense.

Who’d attack a place so cold and far?

A man who thinks there’s wealth below the ground,

though mining in the Arctic Circle’s tough. 

Greenlander-folks speak Kalaallisut;

Danish, in business, schools, and politics.

So protest signs are in three languages.

Red MAGA hats abound in snarky slogans.

Here’s how the locals feel about the threat

to seize their home “the hard way,” using planes, 

armed forces, and the arsenals of war…

We are GREEN-land, not GREED-land.

Stop the pedophile protector!

USA already has too much ICE.

Hey, Congressional cowards—

do your constitutional duty. STOP HIM!

No means No!  USA, go!

Greenlanders don’t support a hostile takeover.

Perhaps the US needs leadership make-over.

WAR ON PROTEIN

Don’t buy those string beans! We’re at war, you know.

Food-traitors challenge prime beef. RFK

declared the war, he’s head of HHR—

so he should know. He spearheads this brave fight.

Milk, yogurt, cheese and beans, they’re protein, too, 

like shrimp and chicken, oysters, catfish, eggs–

But what we’re fighting for is meat that bleeds,

red meat that’s key to feed-lot economics.

Consumption’s down. The price of beef’s at risk. 

Big donors’ big donations, too, at risk—

So patriotic citizens eat steak,

or tri-tip, rump roasts, short ribs, tenderloins.

Those health food freaks and vegetarians

are enemies! We must not let them win!

Rib-eye, brisket, burgers—buy them all,

and do your part to keep beef prices up.

It’s spinach, carrots, broccoli and beets

against filet mignon, sirloin, and ribs—

a battle led by one who dines on roadkill,

puts birthday candles on a slab of steak.

ICE ATTACKS MINNESOTA

Two ICE murders: Renee Good on 1/7/26; Alex Pretti on 1/24/26

Minnesota is a war zone.  ICE

invades and kidnaps prey, one goal in mind—

Deport! Deport!  Make DHS look strong,

and punish states that didn’t vote for Trump.

ICE will back off only when it’s bought off–

can mine state files for private information.

Renee Good’s killing brings it to a boil.

This citizen, accosted by masked thugs,

refused to leave the safety of her car.

She tried to drive away. ICE opened fire—

shot her in the face.  Trump blames the girl,

until he learns her father’s politics:

a staunch MAGA supporter. Or he was…

Protestors now fill up the freezing streets.

One morning, Alex Pretti videos ICE

as thugs begin to herd two targets towards

their white SUV parked across the street.

ICE knocks one woman down, while Pretti films–

his cell phone in one hand, the other raised

to shield his eyes from pepper spray. He tries

to help her up. Because he is a nurse

at Minneapolis’ VA hospital,

his first instinct is always to assist. 

But one ICE agent grabs him, knocks him down.

Seven toughs now pin him to the ground.

An eighth extracts the gun from his right hip,

and backs away with it. A gunman fires,

shoots Pretti in the back. He lies immobile.

Three bullets, then six more. In 30 seconds,

Pretti’s shot ten times.  Bystanders’ phones

document the death from every view.

Protestors swarm, though it’s 20 below–

while Kristi Noem repeats the same old line:

This terrorist, gun drawn, approached ICE troops

with clear intent to massacre them all. 

But cell phone footage shows us all the truth. 

And viewers coast-to-coast behold the scene,

time after time. See Pretti hold his phone,

and see ICE agents shoot him in the back.

Can truth unmask this rogue Gestapo force—

this lawless gang of federal bounty hunters?

Video clips alone won’t rein in ICE.

Right wing sheep must open eyes and minds,

demand that no one is above the law,

that government does not make war on states.

Minnesota shows our nation’s soul. 

Copyright 1/2026                  Patricia Doyne

1

The sky won’t be blue anymore

The water will turn red like a vociferous silence

Stars will explode and give birth to a new galaxy

The grass will start to grow back

You are so beautiful in decay that everyone is waiting for your death

The night is already tiptoeing towards you

The main thing is to die beautifully and smile at a stranger with the face of death

The main thing is to die

2

Nobody knows how loneliness turns into a wheel burning in bony windows

Everyone knows how quiet bones are silent in the sky at night

What are we trying to forget?

Who are we trying to remember?

3

Do not sing

Do not say

Do not listen

Don’t look

Don’t breathe

I died inside the sadness of your belly

Patience

The fig tree truly blooms — though people never see,

Its tender signs appear, yet hearts still fail to see.

Like feelings locked inside where no one else may be,

It whispers softly secrets days can never see.

Both peace and joy stand waiting — patient as they wait,

Dark eyes in tears hold love — silent as they wait.

A broken heart believes the fig will never meet its fate,

Yet all things bloom in time — everything must wait.

Xasanova Aziza Kumushbek qizi student at Tashkent economics and pedagogy university