Shaking my heart, I walked down the aisle without answering.
They made me cry from pain,
I put the stone in the brass.
Dilbar is happy, and he is unhappy with malicious hearts.
I put my dignity in walking straight as a bow.
CREATIVE GIRL
Dilbar Koldoshova Nuraliyevna was born on March 5, 2007 in the Karshi district of the Kashkadarya region.
She is currently the 10th “B” student of the 43rd school.
Dilbarhan is the queen of poetry, the owner of creativity, a singer with a beautiful voice, and a ghazal girl.
She came first in the “Leader of the Year” competition.
1st prize in the regional stage of the “Hundred Gazelles and Hundred Gems” competition.
She took part in the “Children’s Forum” category and won first place in many competitions.
She is currently the coordinator of the training department of Tallikuron MFY in Karshi district.
Kamalak captain of the opposite district.
Head captain of the “Girls There” club at school 43.
The articles titled “Memory is immortal and precious”, “Our School” and “Mother” were published three times in Kenya Times International magazine in 2024.
In 2023, the first poems were published in the poetry collection “Yulduzlar Yogdusi” of the creative youth of the Kashkadarya region.
In 2024, ghazals of the creative youth of the Republic were published in the poetry collection “Youth of Uzbekistan”.
J. D. Nelson is the author of eleven print chapbooks and e-books of poetry, including *purgatorio* (wlovolw, 2024). His first full-length collection is *in ghostly onehead* (Post-Asemic Press, 2022). Visit his website, MadVerse.com, for more information and links to his published work. Nelson lives in Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Tears of the Clouds
Clouds blanket the sky's wide embrace,
Shielding the sun's glowing face.
A gentle breeze whispers soft and light,
Stroking the clouds in its flight.
The world feels draped in sorrow's shroud,
Veiled completely by the cloud.
The wind, at times, takes clouds away,
To distant lands, they sway and stray.
Moisture glistens in the clouds' eyes,
Perhaps the wind has paused its sighs.
Tears known to all as gentle rain,
Fall and soothe the earth again.
Umida Jonibekova was born on December 18, 2002, in Arnasoy district, Jizzakh region. Currently a fourth-year student at Jizzakh State Pedagogical University. Has published several articles on methods of teaching English as a foreign language in international journals and is an active participant in international conferences. Additionally, one of the top 10 participants in the United Kingdom's "National Poetry Competition."
That Rotten Kid
There once was a boy named Eddie. And
clearly there was something very wrong
with this nine-year-old. Ask anybody: they'd
tell you, with an eye roll, that Eddie was
disruptive, distracted, and inattentive in the
classroom. It was 1962 and Eddie had just
been enrolled in the third grade.
He was forever shouting out non-sequiturs,
throwing his pencils and erasers across the
room and striking other students and
teachers; constantly making his unwelcome
presence felt.
No one knew quite what to do with Eddie.
He had been held back in school and so was
bigger and stronger--and more destructive--
that his fellow students.
Though it was suspected by some school
officials that he was, deep-down, quite
intelligent, Eddie was unable--or, they
thought, unwilling--to work with other
children or to complete an assignment.
Rarely could he finish a single written
sentence before his attention wandered
again.
Other children tried to ignore him, as
they were instructed, but he was a
handful, always out of his seat, in
everybody's business and fighting with
the class bully, who couldn't quite
grapple with Eddie's size and manic
strength.
Teachers washed their hands of him. He
was sequestered to a far corner of the
room, but kept dragging his desk, like a
security blanket, back amongst the rest
of the students, on the other side of the
room. He got lonely. Teaching him, they
discovered, was impossible; he was
admonished to "just sit and be quiet." For
Eddie, however, that too was impossible.
After the third grade, Eddie ceased being
a student; once again he had failed and
been held back. No one I knew ever saw
the young man again. Word had it that he
was declared "unteachable" and "incorrigible"
and institutionalized. One teacher was heard
muttering about "That rotten kid..." Eddie's
departure came as a relief to the
teachers and the other students, but in a
sad way.
ADHD was not officially inscribed into
the Diagnostic Manual of The American
Psychological Association until 1987.
Today there are more than 6 million
children diagnosed as affected by this
condition.
Incorrigible
Bob sat at his desk in the 1st grade classroom,
blinking his eyes and rolling his head to first
one shoulder and then the next. This drew
the unwanted attention of his teacher, Miss
Edison. She stepped briskly down the aisle.
"Robert, I've told you before to cut out the
antics. You know you're disturbing the other
children." Bob sneaked a glance at the boys
and girls in his class, saw their happy grins;
at the moment, they were happy not to be
him.
Bob coughed nervously. "And that cough,"
said Miss Edison. "I've sent you to the school
nurse a dozen times but there doesn't seem
to be anything physically wrong with you." She
laid heavy emphasis on the word "physically,"
which set the other children off laughing. "So,"
she concluded unfeelingly, "if you're trying to
get out of class, you can just forget about it."
Bob's face grew hot, his skin a bright pink.
He stared down at his desk. He wished he
could sink through the floor. "Now, you sit
there and don't move a muscle for the rest
of the day or you're going to be in big
trouble.
Bob laid his hands flat on his desktop and
tried to hold himself still. Miss Edison
hovered over him and everyone was watching
expectantly. Suddenly Bob's head turned to
the left. his arm shot out straight and he
coughed hoarsely. Once again the children
exploded in gales of laughter.
Miss Edison blew out a disgusted breath and
told the class to be silent, that this wasn't
funny. The teacher intoned somberly, "A class
cut-up did no one favors." The classroom
settled down, listening to every delicious word.
This was how delinquency and a life of crime
began, she added fiercely.
Bob stole another look at his classmates, again
saw their derisive, toothy grins. "You can just
stay in class for recess and when the rest of us
go to lunch!" proclaimed the teacher. "I wash
my hans of you. You are, Robert, truly
incorrigible" And she stalked back to her desk.
Little was known of Tourette's Syndrome in the
1950s.
J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) is slowly wasting away in the suburbs. He’s been widely published over the years, most recently at The Rye Whiskey Review, Horror Sleaze Trash Quarterly, Mad Swirl, The Beatnik Cowboy and Disturb the Universe Magazine. He has a few copies of his book with Casey Renee Kiser, Altered States of The Unflinching Souls, for sale. You can find him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights.
We know that the eagle is admired worldwide for its bravery, courage, and strong will. It teaches its young to fly with extreme rigor. When the time comes, it throws its offspring out of the nest to prevent them from lazily returning to the “warm home” again, even going so far as to destroy the nest. The eagle is a bird unafraid of flying in rainy weather; in fact, such conditions stir its spirit, and it can use the pressure of the air to its advantage. Additionally, it brings benefits to agriculture by preying on rodents.
These characteristics of the eagle can be compared to those of teachers. For it is through our parents and teachers that we come to know the world, understand it, and achieve something. When we first come to school, our dreams are as high as the sky. We dream of changing the world. We debate with our peers about which professions are valuable and which are not, aspiring to become doctors, businessmen, or lawyers. It is the teacher who instills in us the understanding that achieving these dreams requires education. They dedicate their time, patience, and life to teach us, showing us how to distinguish between right and wrong. They teach us that life is not smooth, and that to achieve something, we must make an effort. If we face failure, they encourage us to try again, reminding us that for us, everything is just beginning.
Just as no two fingers are alike, people also have different goals and characters in life. Some may attempt to mislead those on the right path out of jealousy or for monetary gain. The teacher, however, teaches their students how to rid society of such “parasites.”
To the teacher, a student is like their own child. If the student makes a mistake, the teacher helps to correct it. Where the student spends their time and with whom, what they do—these things matter to the teacher.
A teacher is someone who has spent years studying and researching, climbing to the peak of their own success. Now, they are a noble professional, striving to ensure their students reach that same destination.
Otayeva Dinora Urinboy qizi was born on May 31, 2004, in the Khorezm region. She is currently a 3rd-year student at Urgench State Pedagogical Institute. As a creative student, she has participated in several competitions, including the regional stage of the Zomin Seminar.
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!
