Poetry from Jacques Fleury

Sun low in the sky on a foggy day above some pine trees.
A hazy familiar abstraction....
Like a decoupage painting
Designed as a distraction
Like watching you dreaming...
Mesmerized by a wistful whiff of 
Melancholy and underlying yearning
         for the joy of a blossoming aliveness.
You,       a relay of impressionist painter Claude Monet
All while in the  deep  end of steep sleep;
I was transfixed and     transported     in your succoring   still, 
Even if for a sparkly shine of a      firefly  
Nestled in the arms of the numbing night, 
Like the brevity of life itself...beautifully rendered
Even if only in your dream state;
Until daylight swallows the night
And dreams come AWAKE!

Glowing firefly at night on top of a blade of grass bending with its weight.
Smiling young Black man with short shaved hair, a suit and purple tie.
Jacques Fleury

Jacques Fleury is a Boston Globe featured Haitian-American Poet, Educator, Author of four books and literary arts student at Harvard University online. His latest publication “You Are Enough: The Journey to Accepting Your Authentic Self”  & other titles are available at all Boston Public Libraries, the University of Massachusetts Healey Library, University of  Wyoming, Askews and Holts Library Services in the United Kingdom, The Harvard Book Store, The Grolier Poetry Bookshop, Amazon etc…He has been published in prestigious  publications such as Muddy River Poetry Review, the Cornell University Press anthology Class Lives: Stories from Our Economic Divide, Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene among others…Visit him here.

Photography from Tammy Higgins

Trees silhouetted at sunrise or sunset. Wispy glowing clouds in the sky.
KODAK Digital Still Camera
Sunset or sunrise, pink, blue, and yellow in the sky. Silhouetted trees and a sign.
KODAK Digital Still Camera
Plastic pink flamingoes on grass surrounding a yellow and blue football.
Green bushes, trees, hills, and fog and clouds. Red, black, and white sign in the distance gives the call letters for a radio station.
Black and white photo with sycamore trees and an old building and a lawn.

Tammy Higgins was published in ‘Amulet’, ‘Atlantic Pacific Press ‘Conceit’ ‘Iconoclast’ ‘The International Library of Poetry and Photography’, ‘Noble House’ ‘Out in the Mountains ‘Ultimate Writer ‘Samhain Secrets of Irish Horse Anthologies’ ‘2019 Best New Emerging Poets of New Hampshire, ‘Trajectory’ and won a contest sponsored by ‘The Oak’ magazine, ‘Barbaric Yawp’. Was included in the US/THEM Wolfsinger Productions ‘Second Wind’, ‘Dear Loneliness Project linktr.ee/dear loneliness, the longest letter to fight loneliness, 290 meters, three football fields or almost 1,000 sheets of A4 paper. Also had three photos in The Connected World 2020 Los Angeles Center of Photography & photo Submission in ‘Urban & Health 360, Art Impact International, The Porta Potte.’ Also a photo was published in Typehouse, Carolina Muse and Anti-Heroin Chic.

Tammy Higgins is 57 years old and was born and raised in Northern New York and lives in Southern New Hampshire.  She has MS, Diabetes Type 2, and fibro, loves the outdoors, wildlife, writing, photography, dining out, nature and gardening, gaming online, slow cookers, and learning to play my Washburn electric guitar. She listens to heavy metal and loves cats and weed.

Story from Dildora Toshtemirova

Diagonal shot of a young Central Asian girl with curly black hair and a blue sweater. She's standing in the corner of  a room.
Dildora Toshtemirova

I miss you

Today, my parents, is my birthday. But this birthday is not happy at all. You know, father and mother, I miss you, that innocent girl of 7 years old. I was very happy at that time. I still remember those days. I have not yet heard from anyone what I heard from you. No one could support me like you. I really miss those moments and days with you.

You know, I’m so tired of the day you left me at my grandmother’s house and went to the girl’s house. Every year when that day comes, I can’t find a place to put myself. I still remember my parents telling me “Don’t go, take me too.” And you said, “Daughter, we will definitely come tomorrow, we will bring you lots of chocolates and dolls.” Then I boasted to my grandmother and said, “Grandma, you see, tomorrow my father will bring me many toys and chocolates, they will not give them to anyone, they will bring them only for me.” Then my grandmother smiled and said, “Of course they will.” I will never forget these words.

When I woke up the next day, I was very happy that my father and mother would come today. But this feeling of joy left me. My grandmother was crying, her eyes were full of tears, she was punching the ground and crying. I went to my grandmother and said, “Don’t cry, why are you crying? Mom and dad are coming, they will be sad to see you.” My grandmother couldn’t stop the tears in her eyes and said “I won’t cry, my daughter, I won’t cry”. I could not understand why my grandmother was crying.

On this day, all our relatives came to our house. My aunt, uncle, aunt, uncle, etc. I was looking for you among them. Then I slowly went to my grandmother and asked, “Grandma, when will my father and mother come?” Then my grandmother said “Tomorrow will come tomorrow” and added “Last time” while crying softly. And I could not understand what was happening. The next morning, many people started coming to our house. Women used to come to our house wearing white veils, and men wore caps on their heads, and I didn’t like this situation. 2 months ago, many people came to the house of our neighbor Saliha’s grandmother. The people who came to their house were dressed in the same way. After that, grandmother Saliha disappeared. I was afraid when I remembered them. I cried because my father and mother would not come again, so my grandmother came to me and asked, “Why are you crying? What happened?” And I kept crying, “I need my parents, find me, I’ll go with them, where are they?” My grandmother tried to persuade me, but she could not.

All of a sudden, at that moment, the surroundings became silent. I could not understand anything as usual. I also became silent. Two big things were coming out of the door. I was wondering what it was. Now I know that it is a coffin. That’s why you were there, mom and dad. Then they took out the coffin, that is, you. After that, I did not see you again. You disappeared like grandmother Saliha. I used to harass my poor grandmother by asking for you.

You know, parents, these things will never leave my mind. Maybe when I told you not to go, if you had not left, such incidents would not have happened. Maybe we would celebrate my 17th birthday with you, I don’t know… I wouldn’t spend every day, month, year in loneliness. Now I wouldn’t miss the words “We love you girl”. I always miss the days spent with you. I love you parents. You are not with me, but I know that you are always with me from the heart, my beloved father and mother.

Essay from Azi Umurzoqova

Young Central Asian woman with earrings, a necklace, a lanyard and a white sweater, standing in front of a chair.
Azi Umurzoqova

Jizzakh State Pedagogical University 1st grade student Umurzokhova Aziza.

 A modern approach to the preschool education system.

Abstract:

The economic power of each country, the rise in the level of social and spiritual life is determined by the competitiveness of the educational system and the development of science.

Key words: 

Action strategy,preschool education system,decree and law,reforms.

Therefore, in the Strategy of Actions for the further development of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the priority is to fundamentally improve the education sector, increase the quality of education, form a generation with intellectual potential, physical fitness, in-depth training of specific sciences and training of qualified personnel for various sectors of the economy. were defined as tasks, and it was planned to create an educational system that could ultimately meet the requirements of today’s era.

As a result of reforms in the field, the management mechanism in the preschool education system was fundamentally improved, the non-state educational service provision system was reformed, the secondary special, vocational education system was revised, the quality of training of highly educated specialists was improved. improvement measures were strengthened, a two-level system of post-university education was introduced.

Preschool education. This field, which is considered the primary link of the continuous education system, is extremely important in raising a healthy and well-rounded child and preparing him for school. However, the analysis showed that in recent years, under the influence of various factors, instead of development in the pre-school education system, in terms of preparing children for school education, there have been cases of backwardness, the enrollment of preschool children in pre-school educational institutions during the year has decreased. there was no trend of increasing indicators. On the contrary, during the last 20 years, the number of state-owned preschool educational institutions has decreased by more than 45 percent, and today the coverage of children in preschool education in the republic is 30 percent.

In his speech at the solemn ceremony dedicated to the 26th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the head of state said: “Our goal is to fully cover children of kindergarten age in our country in preschool educational institutions in the next 3-4 years, and we will definitely achieve it.” had emphasized.

In fact, in the past short period of time, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On measures to further improve the preschool education system in 2017-2021”, “Measures to fundamentally improve the management of the preschool education system” on” decrees and decisions “On organizing the activities of the Ministry of Preschool Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan”, as well as

“Unprecedented work has been done on the basis of the 2017-2021 Program for the further improvement of the preschool education system and the “Road Map” for the further improvement of the preschool education system in the republic.

We are witnessing that the changes implemented in the system, along with other areas, the implementation of the tasks defined in decrees and decisions, along with other areas, are under the constant attention of the head of our state. As a result of the implementation of the adopted decrees and decisions, it is expected that by the end of the year, the coverage of children in preschool educational institutions will increase by 10%, and in 2018, the costs of maintaining preschool educational institutions will increase by 32% compared to the current year.

Yesterday, at the meeting of video selectors chaired by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the reforms implemented in the system were analyzed and future tasks were defined.

In particular, taking into account advanced foreign experience, creating conditions for all-round intellectual, moral, aesthetic and physical development of children, increasing the quality of preschool education, fundamentally improving the quality of children’s preparation for school in preschool educational institutions, bringing the world into the educational process the implementation of modern educational programs and technologies that are widely used in practice, and the improvement of the mechanism of training and professional development of pedagogic personnel in preschool educational institutions were set.

In particular, due to the lack of adequate conditions for the activities of preschool educational institutions, the fact that the buildings have become neglected and empty, and they are not being used effectively, seven strategic tasks have been defined, which should be implemented in the first half of 2018.

As part of them, it is planned to allocate 771 billion soums from the 2018 state budget for the construction and repair of 427 kindergartens, including the construction of 14, the reconstruction of 256, and the capital repair of 157. establishment of new type of preschool educational institutions based on partnership, starting from January 1, 2018, for 5 years, half of the funds spent by private kindergartens for natural gas and electricity will be reimbursed from the state budget, healthy feeding of children in kindergartens and in order to ensure the quality of food products provided to them, starting from 2018, 10-15 farmers will be attached to each preschool educational institution to supply quality food products at low prices,the establishment of a state enterprise that supplies high-quality ready-made hot meals to kindergartens, the development of a mechanism for the establishment of the “Catering” service, the improvement of the activities of the institute for the retraining of leaders and specialists of preschool educational institutions and their professional development, preschool education There is no doubt that setting the admission quotas of the institutions that prepare personnel for education based on real needs and the revision of the requirements for preschool education pedagogues will literally serve to bring the field to the level of world standards.retraining of preschool leaders and specialists and improvement of their professional development institute, setting admission quotas of institutions that train personnel for preschool education based on real needs, and revision of requirements for preschool education pedagogues. It will undoubtedly serve to bring the industry to the level of world standards. Retraining of preschool leaders and specialists and improvement of their professional development institute, setting admission quotas of institutions that train personnel for preschool education based on real needs, and revision of requirements for preschool education pedagogues. It will undoubtedly serve to bring the industry to the level of world standards.

The implementation of such huge tasks set in the future requires improvement of the regulatory framework of the sector. Therefore, the very urgent task of developing the draft law “On Preschool Education” based on advanced foreign experience was assigned.

It should be recognized that the development of this draft law, in turn, serves to further improve our national legislation related to the field of education, and to strengthen the legal basis of all relations related to the field.

Therefore, ensuring the implementation of the tasks set before the system requires activity and responsibility from the deputies of the Legislative Chamber. 

 References:.            

1 M.Vahidov. Child psychology. Tashkent. “Teacher ” -1882

2 Bahtiyarovna Y E Portfolio as an assessment tool for individualized insturction 2019

Poetry from Uzbekoyim (needs to be April 1)

Central Asian teen girl with long curly dark hair, a white collared sweater and a black jacket.
Erkinova Elbek (Uzbekoyim)
Only you don't cry, don't laugh in pain!

May my body be frozen, my soul is in pain,
I'm sick, even if I'm sick
Only you don't cry, don't laugh in pain!

Let me take your pain away
May God make me happy,
Let there be a drop of blood in my body,
Only you don't cry, don't laugh in pain!

Ask me anything you need.
I can deliver what you want,
I fear not even death for you
Only you don't cry, don't laugh in pain!

Pains in the body are more than numerous,
It's all painful, it hurts my soul,
I forgot everything, patiently
Only you don't cry, don't laugh in pain!

I bring the herbs of paradise,
I will bring the waters of Zam Zam,
every sweet word I said to you
Only you don't cry, don't laugh in pain!
                                        Uzbekoyim

Erkinova, daughter of Charos Elbek, was born on November 13, 2008 in Navroz Mahalla, Pastdargom District, Samarkand Region. Currently, she is a 9th-grade student at School No. 105. She studied English at the B2 level, knows Russian, and Karese languages. Examples of her work are in the international magazine Kenya Times, Raven Cage Zine. published twice in the international magazine, on the ChaOS international website, in magazines. Member of the YUKSALISH organization, Member of the Volunteer Association of Uzbekistan, member of the Golden Wing organization, holder of the State certificate in the 2nd season of Shahida Yusupova's personal development competition.

Poetry from Christina Chin, Shane Coppage, Marjorie Pezzoli and Jerome Berglund

Lower case typed font of a straight vertical line with another line of text winding around it like a snake.


[tan-renga, untitled] deciduous conifers the secret not enjoying it

        seabreeze lifts 

        a mini skirt

Jerome Berglund& Christina chin [rengay]

Shane Coppage    & Jerome Berglund

Lots of text in loops like dolphins or birds or flower petals all around a page's center.

    Light Mana
fooly electric shoals of koi live live neon

    winsome bird

    before the blur
virtual fall the numbers behind purple rain 

    faraday cage 

    color coding

    french ballets 
data castles arabesque in replica dreams

    singularity

    fake it  

    till you make it[split sequence]

Marjorie Pezzoli       & Jerome Berglund

Tiny lines of text looking like a mountain or a city scape with Throw Down in larger black type arched around the top peaks. Marjorie Pezzoli and Jerome Berglund in angled smaller text underneath that.

        Throw Down 
Sisyphus smiles

        high John 

        the Conqueror 

        swine keep disappearing
daisies cheer
        moonbeams laugh        mannish boy dreams         petal drops
rock-paper-scissors 

        Nana Buluku

        no way to contact directly

        submit a support request

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. 

Christina Chin is a painter and haiku poet. Her work has been featured in numerous publications online and in print: https://haikuzyg.blogspot.com/ https://christinachin99blog.wordpress.com/

Shane Coppage is an emerging writer with a fine arts degree. His words have been published in Humana Obscura, Cold Moon Journal, The Japan Society London, Shadow Pond Journal, and The Winged Moon Magazine. Connect with him on Instagram @shane_coppage.

Marjorie Pezzoli is a silk painter for 25+ years, visual artist, storyteller, and poet. Her writings deal with grief, hope, cosmic wonders, and stuff that catches her eye. Her poetry has been published in numerous anthologies since 2019. Many of her writings are inspired by her photographic observations taken while walking Beau, the dog with Betty Davis eyes. Marjorie looks for words that are worth a thousand images. wwwPezzoliart.com

Poetry from Bill Tope

 

Reap the Harvest

 


Emptiness.  Unfilled shelves and barren

cupboards stared back at me.  The win-

dows had been smashed in when they

couldn't get through the door.  Shards of

glass littered the muddy carpet.  Not a

trace of food was left and every precious

bottle of water taken; the tap hadn't work-

ed for months so we were left with literally

nothing. They even took my mother's

insulin.

 

The baby was crying, eager for the milk

that they had stolen.  At least they hadn't

harmed the small children, or the elders. 

My husband's arm was broken when he

resisted, but all in all our injuries were light. 

They could have killed us all.  And then

burned the house to the ground.  It's hap-

pened before.  However, they knew we would

get more provisions and that they could re-

turn at their own convenience.

 

Of course they raped me and my teenage

daughters, but they didn't kidnap one of

them.  Probably they were unwilling to share

their loot with captives.  Very prudent on their

part, I thought emptily.  They were a roving

gang of mostly young men and women, mar-

auding from town to town, one household to

the next, as if they were reaping a harvest:  of

food, money, medicine, anything they needed,

anything they wanted.  Then they left.

 

Next, I prayed aloud.  I asked God that none

of the women would become pregnant from the

assaults.  And that the children would overcome

the shock that the bewildering attack had caus-

ed them.  Had caused all of us.  And finally, I

prayed that for a change, the crops would grow

this year; that John could find work; that the

drought and the plague would be over and that

the wildfires and the war would end.  I prayed till

I was hoarse and had run out of breath.

 

It was a lot to ask for, a tall order, but after

all, what other recourse did we have?  The

government had been dysfunctional for

years and now distributed food and medicine

only twice a month.  Yes, I decided, if I were

a gambler, I'd have to bet not on politicians or

police or the warm heart of a stranger, but on

a higher power, so-called.

 

We had to wait three days before a doctor could

set John's arm.  We got more milk for the baby

but once again all our clothes hung a little looser

on us.  The new year is just four days away.  It'll

soon be 2028 and I truly believe that it will be a

better year all around.  It must be.  After all, it is

an election year.
 

 

 

 

Adah and Me

 

I was wakened by the touch

of Adah's small hand on my

shoulder. She whispered,

"Miriam, the rockets are

falling again."

 

I sat up, to find the stone walls

shuddering, wondering how I had

slept through the bombardment.

One can perhaps get used to

anything, I suppose.

 

The Israelis told us to go

south, but my grandmother

couldn't walk and we couldn't

find anyone to help us, so

we stayed with her. Last

week, Jida was killed in a

missile strike, so Adah and

I are alone now.

 

I don't know where the

rest of my family is. My

parents and my two

brothers. There's just

Adah, six years old, and

me. I'm thirteen -- just

today!

 

It's amazing how you

can forget what's

ordinarily so important

to you. There won't be

a party.

 

There's little clean water

and almost no food. The

nahibs have taken

everything. I don't

understand; they are

Palestinians like us -- but

not like us, I suppose.

 

I want to take Adah and

go back home. But, there

is no home remaining.

Just the rubble.

 

 

 

 

I Held My Breath

 

 

We had been crowded into a low-ceilinged

room the size of a small church.   Cement

walls and floor.   The soldiers had confis-

cated all our clothes, our shoes, what jewel-

ry and personal effects that had remained

with us.  Most of it had long ago been

bartered away for food or clean water or

other privileges scarce in the compound.

 

We were completely naked:  the men, the

women, even the little children.  Our heads

had been shaved.  Rumor had it that the

Huns stuffed their pillows and mattresses

with our hair.

 

The room was entirely vacant but for the

human bodies; our pale white flesh was the

color of a fish’s belly, and we were stuffed

into the room like oysters into a turkey.

 

We had all been shipped to the death

camp--Todeslager--like cattle to the

slaughter, in box cars, with no food or

water.  With scarcely enough room

to breathe.  Once or twice a plane flying

overhead had strafed the train with

machinegun fire.  Perhaps our own

brave pilots.

 

There were no youths or middle aged men

and women; they had all been absorbed into

the vast slave labor network the Huns oper-

ated.  Only the crippled, the maimed, the

feeble and the old, like myself, were here,

save for the very young, who weren’t hardy

enough for slave labor.

 

We were in Treblinka.  It was June, 1943

and the rumor was that the camp would

be closed soon.  We had no room to lay or

sit or even turn around.  We were like the

kippers that were packed in oil or mustard

and that the inmates in labor camps--the

Arbeitslager--got from the Red Cross.  At

Treblinka we never received our kippers.

There were nothing but rumors flying

throughout the compound:  I had heard it

said that the German women made lamp

shades with our skin.

 

Some of the old men stared up at an aperture

in the ceiling, about a foot and a half over our

heads.  That, they said, was where the Ger-

mans would deposit the Zyklon B, the poison

they would gas us with.  The Commandant,

addressing the prisoners some time ago, had

bragged that superior German industry had

created many wonderful things.  This was per-

haps the example he had in mind when he

said that.  He had seemed very proud.

 

One of the younger of the men had been a

helper, removing the bodies from the chamber

after the gas had dissipated.  After everyone

was dead.  He told us all about how it worked. 

The poison--prussic acid--he said, worked fast. 

There would be a rattling over our heads, in the

chute that the poison was fed into.  Someone,

he said with a grotesque grin, always tried to

keep the pellet from descending.  But fall it

always did.  For his labors he had received

an extra crust of Brot.

 

We waited.  And waited.  Suddenly there was a

clattering overhead, in the chute.  The pellet of

Zyklon B was descending.  A tall man, as if act-

ing a part in a movie, attempted to prevent the

pellet from falling, where it would crack open and

then dissipate in a cloud of murderous vapor. 

His hand slipped.  Suddenly, a large white pellet

crashed to the floor, burst open and a deadly,

diaphanous cloud rose up.  A woman cried out.

The lethal “showers” had begun.  I held my

breath.