a fire that will not be extinguished until equality flourishes.
GRACIELA NOEMI VILLAVERDE is a writer and poet from Concepción del Uruguay (Entre Rios) Argentina, based in Buenos Aires She graduated in letters and is the author of seven books of poetry, awarded several times worldwide. She works as the World Manager of Educational and Social Projects of the Hispanic World Union of Writers and is the UHE World Honorary President of the same institution Activa de la Sade, Argentine Society of Writers. She is the Commissioner of Honor in the executive cabinet IN THE EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL RELATIONS DIVISION, of the UNACCC SOUTH AMERICA ARGENTINA CHAPTER.
No one will be able to love you the same way before
No one can die like you did
I give you castles in the air
I give you sand castles
I’m drowning in the rising tide
I’m drowning in time and death
Pain is a cloud shot in/from minutes
The sand covers the past and
I am drowning in the depths of the sands
***
Mom taught the soldier to read
Mom taught the soldier how to dress
The soldier did not teach his mother to cry
The soldier did not teach his mother to wait
You can’t be born mothers
You can die mothers
Corpses dig trenches for themselves
Corpses are dug out from trenches
***
The tree is dead
Nobody organized a funeral
No one came to say goodbye to the deceased
No one has made a coffin out of human skin
The tree was killed in an unequal battle with a chainsaw
The tree was killed by depriving the executioner of excess oxygen
Trees are so humble that they will endure anything
Trees are so proud that they even die in silence
***
Crystal air
Crystal man
Crystal leaves under crystal feet
Mines
***
1
snowflake cures snowflake
time does not stand still
and the snow molds jugs of touches
2
the bird drinks the morning silence
spring grass is washed with morning dew
the cemetery in the morning is unchanged
3
Inevitable night plays snowballs
another moment and the eyelids will drop
forever
***
аliens are looking
for the last flower
in the history of planet
***
the grass falls asleep
autumn rain drinks
the growing silence
***
the leaves under my feet
taught my bones to crunch
again
***
birds seek sound
and proud friendship
in feathered dandelions
***
nobody knows
who’s hiding under
the killing snow
***
Feet are washed with water and eyes are dried
The desert of the gaze envelops with heat
Look at me and tell me that no one will die
The glass fades and the mosaic breaks into pieces
Bread crumbs gradually become smaller
Birds quietly peck bread or eyes
The world stands still waiting for the future
A storm of inaction envelops the tree
The tree does not resist but dies
How many crosses can a tree give birth to?
How many crosses can a cleaver make?
The grains of time keep their own count
***
You are silent
I drink the silence
You are a bird
I am a torn feather
You give me joy
I’m not happy about anyone or anything
You kiss me with your lips of sunny pearls
I’m still dying slowly
***
Someone is counting the number of stars in the sky
Nobody knows how many suns died in a sore chest
We all smoke the air of freedom and we all die
But what will the homeless angels think of us?
***
the sky under my feet turned into puddles
a little boy with a strange name comes to me every night
he asks to copy an icon from him
and I can draw little things in my dreams
the painted sky under my feet dissolves with the sound of the alarm clock
***
the garage stinks of gasoline
the radio in the kitchen is annoying during dinner
and the younger brother shudders at the sight of the leather belt as before
even after our father’s death
***
ran away from math class
autumn started a lesson with origami
but
sorry I’m too lazy
sorry I’m too sad
for this lesson
silence flows through the veins of the air
the cuts on my hands are almost healed
the rope loop on the chandelier still hangs in my room
I still doubt that everything will go according to plan
I’ll probably skip English lesson tomorrow
I have important things to do in my room
***
lips crack without waiting for a kiss
the snow sculpting the touching
at the bus stop
*** bones entwined with flowers wash the coffin with their whiteness like its a dirty box with a surprise
*** a black cat falls from the roof into the night mouth of silence
*** sort through cards with the names of the dead do not sort through cards with the names of the dead the death assistant has a lot of busyness
*** white people with a clear (empty?) conscience enter my house black birds on the windowsill knock on the iron night of death white people beat fear out of their heads black birds sew up their eyes with despair
*** the rubber hunger of poverty blood flows like a spring glossy eye drinks sugar stream does not quench your thirst
*** Syncopation caught the top of the mountains, so air screamed and drowned in the river. Surprisingly, the fiery heart descended from the sky and also sank in the water. We have been living without the sun for a month. What else does the river water carry away in memory and wash away on the eve of the end of the world?
Md. Mahbubul Alam is from Bangladesh. His writer name is Mahbub John in Bangladesh. He is a Senior Teacher (English) of Harimohan Government High School, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh. Chapainawabganj is a district town of Bangladesh. He is an MA in English Literature from Rajshahi College under National University. He has published three books of poems in Bangla. He writes mainly poems but other branches of literature such as prose, article, essay etc. also have been published in national and local newspapers, magazines, little magazines. He has achieved three times the Best Teacher Certificate and Crest in National Education Week in the District Wise Competition in Chapainawabganj District. He has gained many literary awards from home and abroad. His English writings have been published in Synchronized Chaos for seven years.
Christopher Bernard will be reading at the Poets for Palestine SF Marathon Reading at San Francisco’s Bird and Beckett Bookstore. For a donation of any amount to the Middle East Children’s Alliance, a nonpartisan and nonpolitical organization helping all children in the region, poets can come and read at any time at the store on October 14th, Indigenous People’s Day. Please feel welcome to sign up here or email poetsforpalestinesf@gmail.com to be scheduled.
This month’s issue addresses our fears and aspirations: whether life will become what we dread, or what we hope.
Wazed Abdullah revels in the joy of the Bangladesh monsoon as Don Bormon celebrates flowers and wispy clouds in autumn. Maurizio Brancaleoni contributes bilingual haiku spotlighting days at the beach, insects, cats, and the rain. Brian Barbeito shares the experience of walking his dogs as summer turns to fall.
Soren Sorensen probes and stylizes sunsets in his photography series. Lan Qyqualla rhapsodizes about love, dreams, flowers, colors, poetry, and harp music. Ilhomova Mohichehra poetically welcomes autumn to her land.
John L. Waters reviews Brian Barbeito’s collection of poetry and photography Still Some Summer Wind Coming Through, pointing out how it showcases nature and the “subtle otherworldly” within seemingly ordinary scenes. Oz Hartwick finds a bit of the otherworldly within his ordinary vignettes as he shifts his perspective.
Kelly Moyer crafts stylized photographic closeups of ordinary scenes, rendering the familiar extraordinary. Ma Yongbo paints scenes where ordinary life becomes unreal, suffused with images associated with horror.
Sayani Mukherjee speaks of a bird’s sudden descent into a field of flowers and comments on our wildness beneath the surface. Jake Cosmos Aller illustrates physical attraction literally driving a person wild.
Mesfakus Salahin asserts that were the whole natural world to become silent, his love would continue. Mahbub Alam views life as a continual journey towards his beloved. Tuliyeva Sarvinoz writes tenderly of a mother and her young son and of the snow as a beloved preparing for her lover. Sevinch Tirkasheva speaks of young love and a connection that goes deeper than looks. llhomova Mohichehra offers up tender words for each of her family members. She also expresses a kind tribute to a classmate and friend.
Meanwhile, rather than describing tender loving affection, Mykyta Ryzhykh gets in your face with his pieces on war and physical and sexual abuse. His work speaks to the times when life seems to be an obscenity. Z.I. Mahmud looks at William Butler Yeats’ horror-esque poem The Second Coming through the lens of Yeats’ contemporary and tumultuous European political situation.
Alexander Kabishev’s next tale of life during the blockade of St. Petersburg horrifies with its domestic brutality. Almustapha Umar weeps with grief over the situations of others in his country.
In a switch back to thoughts of hope, Lidia Popa speaks to the power of poetry and language to connect people across social divides. Hari Lamba asserts his vision for a more just and equal America with better care for climate and ecology. Perizyat Azerbayeva highlights drip irrigation as a method to tackle the global problem of a shortage of clean drinkable water. Eldorbek Xotamov explores roles for technology and artificial intelligence in education.
Elmaya Jabbarova expresses her hopes for compassion and peace in our world. Eva Petropoulou affirms that action, not mere pretty words, are needed to heal our world.
Ahmad Al-Khatat’s story illustrates the healing power of intimate love after the trauma of surviving war and displacement. Graciela Noemi Villaverde reflects on the healing calm of silence after war.
Meanwhile, Christopher Bernard showcases the inhumanity of modern warfare in a story that reads at first glance like a sci-fi dystopia. Daniel De Culla also calls out the absurdity of war and the grossness of humor in the face of brutality.
Pat Doyne probes the roots of anti-Haitian immigrant rumors in Springfield, Ohio and critiques fear-mongering. Jorabayeva Ezoza Otkir looks to nature for metaphors on the corrosive nature of hate.
On a personal level, Nosirova Gavhar dramatizes various human responses to loss and trauma. Kendall Snipper dramatizes an eating disorder ravaging a woman’s life and body.
Donna Dallas’ characters are lonely, bruised by life, and drawn to what’s not good for them: drugs, bad relationships, lovers who don’t share their dreams. J.J. Campbell evokes his miserable life situation with dark humor.
Meanwhile, Maja Milojkovic savors each moment as she creates her own happiness through a positive attitude. In the same vein, Lilian Dipasupil Kunimasa celebrates the power of a free and self-confident mind and the joy of spending time with small children.
Tuliyeva Sarvinoz urges us to move forward toward our goals with faith and dedication. Numonjonova Shahnozakhon echoes that sentiment, encouraging perseverance and resilience. S. Afrose resolves to move forward in life with optimism and self-respect.
Michael Robinson reflects on the peace he finds in his continuing Christian walk. Federico Wardal reviews anthropologist Claudia Costa’s research into spiritual fasting practices among the Yawanawa tribe in Brazil.
Duane Vorhees explores questions of legacy, inheritance, and immortality, both seriously and with humor. Isabel Gomes de Diego highlights Spanish nature and culture with her photographic closeups of flowers, religious icons, and a drawing made as a gift for a child’s parents. Federico Wardal highlights the archaeological findings of Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass and his upcoming return to San Francisco’s De Young Museum. Zarina Bo’riyeva describes the history and cultural value of Samarkand.
Sarvinoz Mansurova sends outlines from a conference she attended on Turkic-adjacent cultures, exploring her region as well as her own Uzbek culture.
Barchinoy Jumaboyeva describes her affection for her native Uzbekistan, viewing the country as a spiritual parent. Deepika Singh explores the mother-daughter relationship in India and universally through her dialogue poem.
David Sapp’s short story captures the feel of decades-ago Audrey Hepburn film Roman Holiday as it describes a dream meeting between lovers in Rome. Mickey Corrigan renders the escapades and tragedies of historical women writers into poetry.
Duane Vorhees draws a parallel between Whitman’s detractors and those who would criticize Jacques Fleury’s poetry collection You Are Enough: The Journey To Accepting Your Authentic Self for having a non-traditional style.
This set of poems from Jacques Fleury expresses a sophisticated childlike whimsy. A few other pieces carry a sense of wry humor. Daniel De Culla relates a tale of inadvertently obtaining something useful through an email scam. Taylor Dibbert reflects on our escapes and “guilty pleasures.”
Noah Berlatsky reflects on both his progress as a poet and editors’ changing tastes. Sometimes it takes growing and maturing over time as a person to create more thoughtful craft.
Alan Catlin strips artworks down to their bare essential elements in his list poetry, drawing attention to main themes. Mark Young focuses on kernels of experience, on the core of what matters in the moment. J.D. Nelson captures sights, experiences, and thoughts into evocative monostich poems worthy of another reading.
Kylian Cubilla Gomez’ pictures get close up to everyday miracles: a beetle, car components, action figures, a boy in a dinosaur costume.
We hope that this issue, while being open about the worries we face, is also a source of everyday miracles and thought-provoking ideas. Enjoy!
