Think Different

The poet destroys the dull clang of convention with the piccolo of chaos.

Then the politician rides up on a John Deere mower and there is a blare of chaos.

The one who can save us is awesome

in saving us from the one who is awesome.

Deep in the unconscious

Thomas Jefferson glows like reasons

with the fire of lust. A ginger-haired monstrosity of goat cheese

cannot be contained in the gap-toothed invertebrate

crawling across some appendage.

That is liberation.

It vomits quietly on the sand where Captain Kirk

dreams of exploding robots as he executes his semen-stained programming.

Absolutely nothing has changed except that the horde of germ-carrying art vermin

have commandeered the red wheelbarrow as a stock offering.

A Letter Written on A Tombstone

Stranger, wait here
Wait for a moment
Once I was like you
My forefather was like you
Now I am here
Many people are here
One day you will come here
Everybody will have to come here
Time will finish everything
It is a unconditional fact
Everybody has to embrace with death
And come here one by one
It is out of the world
The world is not here
Money has no power here
Power is powerless
Politics and politicians can't play games
Landlord can't dominant forcefully 
Nobody can do anything
Caste system has no chance
All are equal 
Because all are dead.
Dead man has no address
The things we need here is good deeds
Only good deeds must help us.
So, please do good deeds as much as possible
Time is knocking at the door
Anytime there will go the bell.

Quota Reform: A Chorus of Change

In Dhaka's heart, where dreams ignite,
Students stood tall, their voices bright,
"Equal chance!" they sang, eyes alight,
Quota reform—a beacon in the night.

Sunset hues embraced their plea,
As hope danced wild, young and free,
Shahbagh Square, where courage thrived,
A melody of justice, dreams revived.


Nahyean Taronno is a student of grade eight in Harimohan Government High School, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh. 

Baggage

He thinks

He can handle

Her baggage,

With time

He’ll understand

How wrong

He’s been.

Taylor Dibbert is a writer, journalist, and poet in Washington, DC. “Rescue Dog,” his fifth book, was published in May.

Jerome Berglund has worked as everything from dishwasher to paralegal, night watchman to assembler of heart valves. Many haiku, haiga and haibun he’s written have been exhibited or are forthcoming online and in print, most recently in bottle rockets, Frogpond, Kingfisher, and Presence. His first full-length collections of poetry Bathtub Poems and Funny Pages were just released by Setu and Meat For Tea press, and a mixed media chapbook showcasing his fine art photography is available now from Yavanika.