Special Place
There's a special place in Hell, for me.
Its streets are built on misery
And paved with agony.
Now I've tried to live free of sin
But life was a game I could never win.
I tried to gain Heaven's love, but all in vain
For I was already struck by the Devil's bane;
Forever my ball and chain.
I would find no retreat
For on the day I was born I met defeat.
He rejoiced as he knew a righteous soul;
Sold for a simple lump of coal
Would forever pay the toll.
And he would not wait
Until I stood at his infernal gate.
He brought it to me in my crib
And would never loosen the grip.
So began the trip.
The curse placed upon my infant bed
Builds that special place when I'm dead.
From Southwestern Michigan, Jerry Langdon has lived in Germany since the early 90's. He is an Artist and Poet. His works bathe in a darker side of emotion and fantasy. He has released five books of poetry titled "Temperate Darkness" and "Behind the Twilight Veil", “Death and other cold things” “Rollercoaster Heart” and “Frosted Dreams” Jerry is also the editor and publisher of the literary magazine Raven Cage Zine poetry and prose. His poetic inspirations are derived from poets such as Edgar Allen Poe, Robert Frost and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. As well as from various Rock Bands. His apparently twisted mind, twists and intertwines fantasy with reality.
After a while, I returned to reading Dostoyevsky again. It’s been a long time. It seems that it has been three years since I read his last work, The Brothers Karamazov. Dostoyevsky’s first work was called “The Poor”. It can also be translated as “poor people”. Throughout his life, he revealed the psychology of the poor better than anyone else in all his works. His characters are not simple, but poor people with extremely high feelings. They are at the same time superior to the rest, and at the same time forced to live a miserable life. Dostoevsky’s philosophy can be described as “humiliated virtue”.
The hero of the story-writer in the work is also a person whose noble feelings are not appreciated, who has not seen the respect he deserves, and is humiliated. Therefore, when he gets money, he wants to increase it, even if it is in a way that people condemn, and he wants to live far away from these people and, most importantly, without hating them. The most beautiful dream for a man, close to human nature, is this: “…to buy land in the outskirts and spend the rest of my life in the mountains, in the vineyards, most importantly – far from you, but without keeping a cake for you, with the highest goal in my heart, with the woman I love from the heart , God willing, to live with my family, without sparing my help from neighbors…”
A young man with this intention is usually looking for a life partner. If he finds it, he will fall in love with it and be ready to throw everything at his feet. There is a difference between the love of young men who wash their hands from society and those who are trying to achieve status in society. For a young man who is envious of property, prestige, and career, a wife is a part of his life, and certain functions are assigned to her. For a young man disillusioned with society, love is at the center of his life.
Masuma’s personality is gradually revealed from such male language. She is 16 years old and like most girls her age, she is stubborn. He tries to “prepare, shape, defeat” him. That was the mistake. Pure and intelligent at the same time; has both high feelings and experienced humiliations; stubborn nature; mentally unstable; it weighs on a teenage girl whose personality is not yet fully formed. The whole work is built on the short life and mental instability of these two characters. Small conclusions can be drawn from the work, but there is no overall idea. In this case, Dostoyevsky did not pour out everything as in his great works, he did not aim for such a big goal, he just depicted two poor people.
MY YEARN FOR HUMANITY
Search for tranquility, wandering with nothing
Nothing is similar for toddlers.
Without expectation, dreams scratching mind
Delving into the minds of loved one
I can see the evil seeds growing hence,
Faith dissolved, foster understanding halted,
Are Indelible memories my dreams ?
Is an offensive thought my reality ?
If men are women, then why gender ?
Now I’m like Vascoda Gama, not for finding countries,
The only men who want to see humanity.
I Am She
I am She, the ageless feminine;
Bringer of life via the veins of time and blood;
I am the midwife of celestial birth;
The ears of humanity’s soul songs;
The conscience of all who breathe and speak.
I am the life force of spirit and flame;
The bringer of knowledge through error;
Through waves of anguish and tears.
I am the moist lips on the act of procreation.
I am She, the joy of creation’s repetition;
The steadfast reaching for perfection
And the holy quest of all that is beauty.
Give to me your tears, your laughter,
Your creations, your brightness of spirit.
Place your love-flowers on my soul’s altar;
Share with me all that brings joy or sorrow.
I am She, Mother of a puling universe;
Everlasting as the light of the sun;
As the moon swelling tides of the mind.
I am She, the ageless feminine;
Bringer of life via the veins of time and blood.
How Do I Express Such Love
Deeper than darkest darkness;
Higher than heavenly light;
Love that is true is boundless;
A carefree, uncharted highway
Leading to completeness in life.
The soft-spoken words of love
Are more soul-swelling lovely
Than the notes of a golden harp
Or the trills of a crystal flute
Echoing from love’s symphonies;
Skipping gaily over time’s promises;
Fading in gales of forever-afters.
I see you in my wildest dreams;
I hear your footfalls in the halls
Of all the empty house loneliness
That ever haunted my yearning.
Your love whispers on the wind,
Fill my ears with expectations
And dreams of love’s tomorrows.
How do I express such love for you?
Annie Johnson is 84 years old. She is Shawnee Native American. She has published two, six hundred-page novels and six books of poetry. Annie has won several poetry awards from world poetry organizations including; World Union of Poets; she is a member of World Nations Writers Union; has received the World Institute for Peace award; the World Laureate of Literature from World Nations Writers Union and The William Shakespeare Poetry Award. She received a Certificate and Medal in recognition of the highest literature from International Literary Union for the year 2020, from Ayad Al Baldawi, President of the International Literary Union. She has three children, two grandchildren, and two sons-in-law. Annie played a flute in the Butler University Symphony. She still plays her flute.
Drug addiction is a significant, global problem worldwide
According to the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 7, 1987 (No. 42/112), “June 26 – International Day of Combating Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking” is celebrated worldwide every year.
Since this day, the people of the world have united in the fight against the epidemic of drug addiction, the reason why drug addiction is one of the main problems of the world society and is a dangerous factor in our time. Every year on the 26th of June, various agreements are signed between the countries to limit the sale of narcotic substances and not to cultivate them.
In February 1909, representatives of 13 countries gathered in Shanghai to fight against the cultivation of narcotic drugs in Asia and established the Shanghai Commission. Reading such information, we are convinced that drug addiction is a global problem.
In addition, more than 500 million people are infected with this disease in the world, and these indicators continue to grow. Most of them are under 30 years old. As a result, more than 211,000 people die prematurely every year. The average age of people who die from drug addiction in Europe is 35 years. According to experts, 1.6 million people contracted AIDS as a result of drug use, 1.2 million people were diagnosed with hepatitis B virus, and 7.2 million people were infected with hepatitis C virus. At the same time, 57 percent of crimes committed in the world are committed by drug addicts.
Therefore, in order to strengthen the fight against drug addiction, the UN Conventions “On Narcotic Substances”, “Psychotropic Substances” and “Conventions on Combating Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances”, and in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 1999 “On narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances” law was adopted.
Measures are always being taken to eliminate this global problem, illegal consumption and circulation of psychotropic substances. However, have we ever thought about why people become “captives” of such narcotic and psychotropic substances?
Physiological and psychological changes that occur in people can sometimes lead people to consume drugs. For example: various disagreements with family members, ignorance about the dangers of alcohol and drugs, severe depression, simple curiosity, misalignment of values in modern society, strong western psychological influence and lack of promotion of a healthy lifestyle, it is examples like these that unknowingly start people addict to drug .
Sometimes, some people who want to be materially rich put an end to the lives of several people in the way of their selfish goals. They intended to educate the population, especially young people, about psychotropic substances and then profit from them. But as it is said that every work has its reward and punishment, it is inevitable that they will be prosecuted for this activity.
In conclusion, it is necessary to avoid becoming a victim of bad vices such as drug addiction. It is the duty of each of us to be aware of what is happening in the society and around us, and to fight against the rise of drug addiction, without being indifferent to the fate of the whole humanity.
Zebo Ibragimova was born on February 24, 2005 in Urta Chirchik district of Tashkent region. Working as the leader of the Youth Union Primary organization, she was recognized as the winner in nominations such as “The Most Middle-aged Girl”, “The Most Poet Girl”, “Spring Queen”. Her creative works are publishing in national and international newspapers, journals and anthologies.
Doppelgangers by A. Iwasa
I'm convinced everyone has at least one doppelganger. There are only so many ways a human being can look.
For years I was haunted by one, who also had the same first name. I became aware of this the first time I walked into Common Ground, a café in Kamm's Corners, Cleveland. I walked up to the counter, and a really pretty barista said, "Hello Alex."
I was smitten but dumbfounded. I asked, "How do we know each other?"
She squinted a little, and said, "Oh, funny, you look like my friend, Alex."
A few years later I was on my way to Common Ground for my second time and told this story. My ride's older sister was sitting with me in the back seat and said, "That was me! You look like my friend Alex, and I was the only cute girl working there, then!"
I could have keeled over and died. She was still all kinds of cute, and now she was starring at me. Perhaps this was when I found out Alex fronted Cows in the Graveyard.
Rewind to 1996, and I'm walking through a way over sold Mushroomhead, Incantation, Forlorn show at the Phantasy Nite Club in Lakewood, Ohio. An extremely attractive young woman walks up to me and exclaims, "Alex!"
I ask, "How do we know each other?"
She looks me over and says. "Sorry, you look like my friend Alex."
"I am Alex!"
She laughs and replies, "Oh, funny, you're also named Alex?" then walks away leaving me disappointed.
A year or two later I'm walking through Parmatown Mall, and briefly talk with another mall rat. Later he told me as I walked away his companion said, "He looks like my friend, Alex."
He told her, "That was Alex."
"No, Alex sings for a band."
"Alex sings for a band."
"Not him, different Alex."
I was also told she thought Alex was hot, for whatever that was worth.
A few years later I was on my way to Washington, DC to protest the war in Afghanistan before it started. We stopped in Kent, and a student I didn't know sat down next to me and we got to talking. Eventually she told me I looked like the singer of a band she just saw. I asked if the bands was Cows in the Graveyard, but she couldn't remember. I was ready to lose my mind!
The next summer I was at a drum circle behind the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on a Sunday evening, and a lovely young woman I just met told a mutual friend she might have still been dating at the time, "Doesn't he look like Alex?"
He simply replied, "Alex is hot?"
"You think so?!"
"Yes!"
"I don't."
We make eye contact, I'm frowning deeply. She laughs awkwardly and says, "What I'm saying? Alex is hot." We sort of become friends that summer, but I was always a bit suspicious that she was using me to make her ex jealous.
In October that year, the International ANSWER Coalition organized demonstrations against the second Iraq War before it started, and I went to the action in Clevo's Public Square.
Somehow I ended up in a conversation about doppelgangers, and I heard the worst doppelganger story ever: "About every five years someone walks up to me, punches me in the face, and then says, 'Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I thought you were someone else!'"
We all laugh heartily, I can't top that one, but I share my haunting story to a few good laughs.
Later I keep hearing people shout, "Alex!" but they're never calling for me. I notice someone else answering all the calls as he dorks with the PA. He has brown skin, about my height, glasses, shaggy hair (we both had long, long hair, then cut it about the same time)... and a backpatch: Cows in the Graveyard. I walk up to my long lost brother, and introduce myself.
I retell my story of how I'd been hearing about him for some six and a half years. He'd like to know who all these pretty women were.
