Grateful

He’s anxiously reading about,

The life expectancy,

Of Jack Russell Terriers,

And discovering,

Unique and incredible,

Stories of resilience,

He’s feeling so grateful,

To have London,

In his life.

Taylor Dibbert is a widely published writer, journalist, and poet. He’s author of the Peace Corps memoir “Fiesta of Sunset,” and the forthcoming poetry collection “Home Again.”

Born in Catanzaro(1962-Italy) where he lives and works…Claudio Parentela is an illustrator,painter,digital painter,photographer,mail artist,cartoonist,collagist,textile artist,journalist free lance…Active since many years in the international contemporary art scene.He has collaborated &he collaborates with many,many zines,magazines of contemporary art,literary and of comics in Italy and in the world…& on the paper and on the web…some name amongst the many:NYArtsMagazine,Turntable & Blue Light Magazine,

Komix,LitChaos,Why Vandalism,Thieves Jargon,180 Mag,Braintwisting,The Doors of Creativity Anthology,Lo Sciacallo Elettronico,Inguine,Stripburger,Lavirint,Komikaze, Mystery Island Magazine,Monoclab, MungBeing Magazine,The Lummox Journal,The Cherotic R(e)volutionary,Sick Puppy,Malefact,Gordo,johnmagazine, SHITTY SHEEP-Lamette, alchimiadeldolore,Be|Different, UpScene Magazine ,Chance,Lucid Moon, Tryst ,Carolina Vigna Maru’s Blog, Abusemagazine, hijacked, Synthesis, filosofem.com, Spartandog, Numbmagazine,DrexterMagz,Que Suerte,Art Life,Pintalo De Verde,ApArte,Evasion,The Benway Institute,Phony Lid Publications,First Class,This Is Magazine,Diesel,Stu Magazine, Becoming Journal , Exposweb, Pockoville,Crane Magazine,Staplegun, Zupi ,4×6-art, Funtime Comics,Untergruntblatte, lartmagazine, Passenger May, Sekushi , Onthecamper,Head Press,Entmoot,

Lartmagazine,You&Me,Rorschach,Fagorgo,B.G.A.Comix,Tracce,Prospektiva,Balkan Spirit,Liberazione.net,Don Juan Online,Emozioni, Digitalabstract,Fatece Largo,Petrolio,Out Zine,Pssst Zine,Bolle Di Cartone,All About Fucking,Gibbering Madness,Rotkop,Anima Mal Nata,ZZZzine,Labour Of Love,Bianco D’Uovo,Bries,Ratriot,Kami Zine,Pus!,Bathtub Gin,Experimental Forest,Stardust Memories,Sunburn,Funtime Comics,Spaghetti,Plop,Topaz&Psichedelica,Joey and The Black Boots,Blind Man’s Rainbow,The White Buffalo Gazzette,Lore,Lunatic,Chamelon,Rigodor,Axolotl,Luca Bonanno Editore,Succo Acido,Pitchfork,Chainsmoker,Surface,Crimson Feet,Skyline,Re:Magazine,Oyster Boy Review,Anthology,Xero Magazine,Slic,Lit Pot Press, warmtoast cafe,Gumball Poetry,Mineshaft,Milk&Wodka,Yahoo Zine,Stardust

Memories,CartaIgienica,Faestethic,Field Report,Out Of The Blue,Comfusion Magazine,Careful,Ellin Selae,Multistorey,Disegni Di Sogni,Omnibus,The Sound Projector,Gooch Magazine,Laugh Clown Laugh,Shift, Castlemagazine- WAMtv,Vial,Frior,Debilana,Cool Strip Anthology,Territory,Panik, weblog.bezembinder.nl,Celulit,Pimba,OtomanoProper Gander,Container,Mammamiaquantosangue,Cikuta,Traspiratore,Gambuzine,Empty Life,Erroneo,Kalte Tage,Planeta Underground,Cabezabajo,

Poetexpress,Nexus,Criade,Love Eternal Lost Infernal,Algiza,Raven,A.K.O.M.,Mutate & Survive,Angelflesh Press,Skirocore,Sirota Jerica,Zone Optimiste De Bande Dessinèe,Breakfast All Day,The Brown Bottle,Crystal Drum,The Brobdingnan Time,Edgar,Il Foglio Clandestino,Microbe,New York Press,Something Else,O!!Zone,Vitriol,The Flashing Astonisher,Devil Blossoms,Contagio,The Dream Zone,Sinus,Yops Zine,Versus Press, lamoira. –ultrazine-graphola-tribenet-linarte-homme-moderne-furtherfield-globevisions-artbabyart- UpScene Magazine -zanzibart-braintwisting-arte.go-designradar-sitart-sciacalloelettronico-artfaq- Caveat Lector-lazaruscorporation-ionone-lospaziobianco-youandiproductions-artrenegades-artbureau-cimaisevirtuelle-americanspiritstudios-Choler Magazine-graphiland-artpoetryfiction-catalyzerjourna-ambulant-surfaceonline-lambiek-thebluesmokeband—equilibriarte-gumballpoetry-cafeshops-subtletea-vu gallery-silverfish-zeroboutique-mondocolorado-succoacido-artzar-unlikelystories-discord-aggregate-latchkey.net-bewilderingstories-artbarge-yokeandzoom-bhag.net-chaosgeneration-artgalerie34-lobstupidfish-netcells.net-thundersandwich-sensuoussadie-thepedestalmagazine- BecomingJournal- No More Flowers –

Space Junkies Magazine-lucidmoonpoetry-ubq-plumrubyreview-komikaze-tattoohighway-Burrow Magazine-Swoon Magazine-artistswithoutfrontiers- WAMTV-…El Eros Incesante -thedigitalartist-doubledarepress-theaxis-cloudking-monkeyview- Y SIN EMBARGO magazine –Dirt Cheap Magazine- Degrees of Separation- WeirdArt-drunkenboat-erreur404-bigbridge-monkeyview-opensewer-oysterboyreview-labisagra-Entero’ziNe-arti(e)rumori –botulinux-tenaviv-eternarte-fameweb-erbadellastrega-muse-apprentice-guild-dimensionearte-socialdesignzine-indiejournal- thanalonline-Rorschach-roxybar-genomart-spreadhead-duepunti- AnythingILike- LIFE DURING WARTIME- surreal collages-

-stategrezzi-agliincrocideiventi-stradanove-Tiscali Arte-hybridstudios-arthal-socialdesignzine-boxart-.eroxe-edizioniriccardi-art.e-zine-erroneo-SOGNOdiSEGNI 2002-clubghost-musicheart-linguaggioglobale- dwarfcadaver -actarus-xseven-whipart-girodivite-ideerandage-gordo.it-erbadellastrega-skorieindustriali-wema-Entero’ziNe-robotswillkill-omnisat-lucidmoonpoetry-H+Art-komikaze-hoardmag-phueydesign-Culture1.com-tattoohighway-arteutile-herecomethewilddogs-RetortMagazine- subculture-lovepain.com-showcomplex-lobstupidfish-wormwoodchronicles-ArtRemains-gallerythe-prettythings- artsingulier–dustydomino-halfempty- americanartists-cartaigienica-escualotis-artactif-webdesignersexperiments-outsiderink-pseudolo-samsara-strangedude-globevisions-lospaziobianco-yokeandzoom-cafeblu-casaditolleranza-equilibriarte-stickyourneckout- artrevolt project- Hugo Strikes Back!-botulinux-literarypotpourri-locomediadub-halfempty-Choler Magazine-Mistery Island Magazine-inkpots-

artisticdevil-lamette-studiocleo-lovepain-tribenet-inguine.net-Hermatena-prosetoad-stickyourneckout-pickwick-samsara-artfaq-rorschachonline-arte.go-jamcafe magazine-locomediadub-Animals in Mailart –roxybar-Arts Ablaze Gallery –Filosofem-enfusemagazine-sensuallogic-phirebrush-millenniumartgallery-dork magazine-galleryculture-Escáner Cultural-digitalconsciousness-Arts Ablaze Gallery –mousikelab-fameweb-socialdesignzine-theshowingplace- warmtoast cafe-gumballpoetry-invisibleinsurrection-hybridstudios-digizine-charnwood-arts-surface-wiredheart-poemus-artrenegades-mindcaviar-succoacido-gallerythe-Vulcanoidi- The Lamp-Araba Fenice -net-art-artetop-guzzardi.it-mentalcontagion-furtherfield-catalyzerjournal-Cristian S. Aluas CSA Books-Lummox Press/Journal-lovechess-americanspiritstudios-Mashnote Magazine …- ANIMAL magazine- Wicked -TheArtSource- Not The Tate, gallery- nonzi-escmagazine-graphiczone-

theamericanskin-undergroundxchange-Silent Presence Gallery-publiceyesore-locusmag-Unwound-cartaigienica-Buiten Westen -armando adolgiso.it-artdish-the-vu-BATHTUB GIN -JHON magazine-bonobo-galleryculture-linguaggioglobale-progettobabele-subsystence-samsaraquarterly-traspi.net-arteecarte-galerieserrano-vicodelferro-woesteweduwe-dimensionearte-braintwisting-topolin-prospektiva-placesofart-falsestart-GLUBIBULGA’ -arti(e)rumori –cafepress-annotazioni-electronic-art-edizioniriccardi-ilbolerodiravel-subculture-arthal-sitart-citizen32-paroladidonna-lilacedius-essendemme-inguine.net- DarkArtists-tangents-cimaisevirtuelle-riflessioni-jackmagazine-Exquisite Corpse -obscurity . webzine -UBQ | Leave Your Fingerprint-Rivista Anarchica Online-bedfordnovel-poemus-Tiscali – Arte-wormsarts-atopiaonline-dorkmag-digizine-pigmag-outsiderink-ROJO®magazine –doubledarepress-

redfoxpress-HOARD MAGAZiNE -NoTxt Magazine -filtered-magazine-Arts Ablaze Gallery –thewissahickon-doubledarepress-hoardmag-thundersandwich- rockheals-CimarronReview-charnwood-arts-jackmagazine-madhattersreview-Whalelane- BoundlessGallery-oysterboyreview-thewissahickon-invisibleinsurrection-aliens-cafe-masthead-ambulant-roxybar-blank-magazine-funtime.comics- ConArt-lovechess-zafusy- P.F.S.-bigbridge- EOTU Ezine – OK ARTE-SpokenWar- Bant Magazine-Hybrid Studios-lunaticchameleon-fearsmag-Mashnote Magazine –fifthstreetreview-locusmag-theaxis-XERO Magazine-Pulled Up Mag-litvision-inkpots-ESC! Magazine ––Animal Raw Art- Spent Meat- artbarge-buitenwesten-artuindenfair-youandiproductions- ionone-takingitglobal-thepedestalmagazine-Half Empty –iconique-

smallspiralnotebook- Transmission Magazine-sidewalkpoetry-vialmagazine-peaceseed-monophobic-thepoisonedapple-two-zero-Exquisite Corpse –kenagain-HEAD magazine-zerooneart-virtuallyinfamous-BATHTUB GIN – Illustrationmundo,Gambuzine-tenthousandmonkeys-CHANCE MAGAZINE-channel83.gallery-soupskin.- spreadhead- thelemming-prettythings-funhousemagazine-gallery-21-leportillon-raggededgepress-Bonobo galerie –hexvalue-netcells-retortmag-crystaldrum-locomedia-cafepress-Tokyo Cow-kufia-Crack! Fumetti dirompenti -Corps Possibles – Identités Possibles-retortmag-artrecess-johnmagazine-Tiscali – Arte-Roxy Web – Arte-biographic.ubq-deliriohouse-indiejournal-Outsider Ink-latchkey-poopsheet-lamoira-tribenet-linarte-homme-moderne-globevisions-artbabyart-zanzibart-arte.go-sitart-sciacalloelettronico-pseudolo-illu-station-botulinux-lazaruscorporation-lospaziobianco-Federico Feroldi Arte Contemporanea-rockheals-cimaisevirtuelle-americanspiritstudios-Choler Magazine-The House of Tate-artpoetryfiction-otro.it-Outsider Ink-Cimaise Virtuelle -GQ-La Tora Web-Mutate&Survive-Doodlers Anonymous-latchkey.net-Mashnote Magazine –Anteism-vorticeargentina-spreadhead-indiejournal-3rdthought-edificewrecked-galerieserrano-sugardrum-curiousculture-wrath.de-Magpie Magazine-Lazer ArtZine-DoDmag-Dark Sky Magazine,Paraphilia Magazine,New Chemical History,Cut-click Magazine,Dirt Cheap Magazine,GOB Magazine, Inprint-Mag,…
…etc…etc…and the list could continue again a long time…

During the 1999 he was guest of the BREAK 21 FESTIVAL in Ljubliana(Slovenja)…
…His obscure&crazy artworks are present &shown in many,many art galleries in the endless web&in the real world too…and then again at ’’GIRASOLE’’(Villa Basilica),at ’’TABULA RASA’’(Barcellona),at Vahagnartgallery ,at ‘’GALERIE SLAPHANGER’’(Amsterdam),at ‘’La Casa Di Tolleranza’’(Milan),at’’La Cueva-No Art Gallery’’(Milan),at Spazio Aurora(Milan),at Forte Prenestino(Rome),at Andenken Gallery(USA),at’’ HOEPLI INTERNATIONAL BOOKSTORE EXHIBITION SPACE’’(Milan), at Skorie Industriali(Rome),at theMUKY(Faenza), in Turin with the Association’’Mind The Gap’’,at The ‘’Pina Gallery’’(Koper),al ‘’Diesel Gallery’’(NY),at the ‘’METAVERSO’’(Rome),at the”Virtual Shoe Museum”,,at ‘’Little Cakes Gallery’’(NY),at the’’Interzona’’(Verona), at ’’Trainside Gallery’’(Haverhill,USA),at ‘’Blah Blah Gallery’’(U.S.A.),at ’’Scaremongering Gallery’’(USA),at ‘’Sage Club’’ (Berlin),at ‘’Panda Club’’ (Pistoia),at Creativa2006(Rignano sull’Arno-FI-Italy)),CAM_Casoria

Contemporary Art Museum(Casoria,NA,Italy),at ‘’Cultural Association EKIDNA(Carpi-MO-Italy)- at Glowinski’s’ Library(Olesnica-PL), ‘’Da Marisa Gallery’’XM 24(Bo-Italy),’’ Blog on Arthur Rimbaud’’ 2 shows at the Castello di Rivara, near Torino ,and at the the San Carpoforo church, place of the Accademia d’Arte di Brera in Milano, at ‘’Tenax’’ (Firenze),at ‘’Teatro Studio’’ di Scandicci (Firenze),at the Libreria Segnalibro of Ferrara(with the show’’Tarocchi Evoluti’’organized by the Associazione Hermatena),at ‘’Ambasciata di Marte (Florence)’’,at ‘’Klyk’’ (Firenze), at ‘’The Wurst Gallery’’(Portland-U.S.A.)- at Red Labels(Toronto-Canada), at Centre for Graphic Arts HogeDRUKgebied(Rotterdam-NL), at Galerija DLUM(Maribor-SI), at ’’Achab’’(Catania) and at all the other sicilian stops of the show’’SognoDiSegni’’,at Artitude Gallery(Paris),at ‘’Zo Cafè’’(Bologna),at the show” the show”CHILDREN NO MORE”(Bari-Italy),”at the Barcode(San Benedetto del Tronto-Italy),at Circolo Culturale Bertold Brecht(Milano-Italy), NO.HUMAN.NO.CRY(Monza-IT), at Atkinson Art Gallery ( Southport UK),at’’ DYNAMO’’ (Milano-Italy),at the show’’Arredi Digitali’’in San Benedetto Del Tronto and at the shows that GRAPHOLA has organized and continues to organize…at’’Leave Your Fingerprints’’ organized by the friend Mimmo

Manes&UBQ,at ‘’ Fira Magica de Santa Susanna’’(Spain),at”GUAPOPO Gallery”(Spain),at’’Sechiisland’s Micro Gallery’’(Brasil),at ‘’Museum of Porn in Art’’(Zurich),Cranky Yellow(Saint Louis, MO-US),at”Hoody Art Gallery”(London-UK),at’’Black Maria Gallery(LA-USA),at’’Third Drawer Dawn(Australia),at”Green Art Fair Miami 08″,at 3rdthought, at ”Umber Studios”(Minneapolis-USA),,at”Zoccoletti e Zoccolette”(BIOKIP GALLERY @ Pervinca OpenSpace-Milan-It),at ”The Woom Gallery”(Birmingham-UK)-SPAZIO ARKA(Assemini centro (CA)),”SUBject Festival”(Bologna-It),CeC 2009 Uttarakland (India),at ”I MALEDETTI DEL ROCK ITALIANO”(Palazzo del Podestà,Città di Castello-IT),”Human Emotion Project”(Brancaleone,Rome It),”Ocho Delicate Nature”(Milan-It),”Ocho global group exhibition & book”(Barcelona-Spain),at the ”Mezzanine”collective show curated by Chillin’s Productions(San Francisco-U.S.A.),”®out 3ª Mostra Internacional d’Art Urbà Publicitari”(Barcelona-Spain),”Inspiration Art Exhibition 3”(Tel Aviv-Israel),at”Phobia”collective show at the”Gallery’101′(Kaunas-Lithuania),at the”#2AdunanzAutogestitArtisti”(CasalBertone -Rome-IT),at the Italian Institute of Culture(London-UK)…and again..and again to other …He does a lot of mail art and he partecipates to all the mail art projects he knows…

…He has collaborated and he collaborates with many bands of industrial music,noise,experimental&electronic,harsh&death&metal gore…punx…….He has illustrated poems and stories&music of Gavin Burrows,Harry Wilkens,Vittorio Baccelli,Claudio Morici, Alberto Rizzi,Cristiano Quadalti,Shannon Colebank,Gary Sneyd,Robert Smith,Michael Kriesel,Mark Sonnenfeld,Nathan Medema,Richard D.Houff,…drawn together for&with Maurizio Bianchi M.B,Elvi Athan,Marcel Herms,Kapreles……for various publishers he has realized some booklets of illustrations and comics:’’Il Ratto Bavoso’’,and’’L’Incubo Dimezzato’’(Innovation Studio-B.G.A.Comix-Italy);’’Fashion Robot’’(David Lasky-Seattle-USA),’’L’Agnello Sacrificale e la Salamandra Impiccata al Patè 666’’(Medicina Nucleare-Italy);’’Storie’’(Progetto Siderurgiko-Italy),’’Eudemoni’’and’’Piccola Trilogia Nera’’(Poems of Alberto Rizzi and of Cristiano Quadalti with Claudio Parentela’s illustrations -Criatu Prod.-Italy);’’Jeanne Dark You Got Balls’’ and’’The Frogs’ Ballet’’(Self-produced);’’Black Kisses and Other Stories’’,and ‘’The Book Of Secrets’’(La Cafetiere Editions-Belgium);

’’Endless Tongue’’(texts of Richard D.Houff and Claudio Parentela’s illustrations -The Benway Institute-USA),’’Else Beds’’(Claudio Parentela’s illustrations and poems of Nathan Medema-JesusBunny Press-Canada);’’The Savage Soldier’’(Luca Menichini Prod.-Italy);’’Derrumbe’’( Valter Casini Ed.-Italy),’’Matter Ballet’’(Claudio Parentela’s illustrations and poems of Michael Kriesel-BoneWorld Publishing-USA),’’Social Reform’’(poems of Shannon Colebank and Claudio Parentela’s illustrations-Whizzbanger Prod.-USA);’’Le Miopi Della Montagna’’(Underground-Press-Italy).”The Weak Cuckoo”(Gran Negro Publisher-Spain).…He has drawn 2 tarots for’’Tarocchi Evoluti’’(published by Associazione Hermatena-Italy)…and always Hermatena Publishers has published my last and new tarots’ decks”I Tarocchi dell’Iride” and’’I tarocchi Dell’Archetipo Blu’’…and on the web he is present on many pages and in many places again… 

For contacts:

CLAUDIO PARENTELA

VIA F.CRISPI N.79
88100 CATANZARO-ITALY
Tel.Num&FAX.:+39 0961744087-Cell:3713423289

E-Mail: claudioparentela@alice.it — claudioparentela@gmail.com
My Web Sites: https://ilrattobavoso.altervista.org/—https://ibelieveinblackaliens.altervista.org/–https://claudioparentela.wixsite.com/mysite—https://claudioparentela.wixsite.com/mysite—http://parentelaclaudio.altervista.org/– –http://www.myspace.com/claudioparentela —https://twitter.com/cparentela —https://www.instagram.com/cparentela/— https://www.instagram.com/claudioparentela62/–https://www.instagram.com/claudioparentela2/—http://claudioparentela.tumblr.com/— https://www.facebook.com/claudio.parentela.1—http://www.flickr.com/people/49533264@N05/—https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudioparentela/—https://www.talenthouse.com/claudioparentela

My Art Blogs: http://theextrafinger.blogspot.com — http://foggygrizzly.blogspot.com– – http://cparentela.livejournal.com/ —  http://elvisinh.blogspot.com/ — http://thethermostatandthegreendragoon.blogspot.com/ — http://diabeticdew555.blogspot.com — http://cosmiccrystalsdirtypigs.blogspot.com/ —  http://coward33sneeze15.blogspot.com/–http://variationsinnortherndegradations.blogspot.com/

Welcome to February’s issue, the Literary Browsing Experience.

First of all, Synchronized Chaos stands with all those affected by the recent earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria. We encourage all who are able to contribute to the relief efforts, which you may do through the Red Crescent or other worthy organizations.

Also, please come out to Synchronized Chaos Magazine’s in-person event, held during the Association of Writing Programs’ conference, Thursday March 9th at 6pm at Ada’s Technical Books in Seattle.

During the pandemic many of us came to miss browsing in bookstores and libraries. The experience of scanning and flipping through books that we wouldn’t ordinarily order for ourselves, but which catch our eye and we find ourselves fingering, flipping, reading, and then checking out and buying.

This reading creates an ‘audible browsing’ experience by presenting readers who are published authors in a variety of genres. This includes mystery, romance, poetry, memoir, drama, literary and international fiction.

Also, our friend and collaborator Rui Carvalho reminds us about our Nature Writing Contest for 2022.

This is an invitation to submit poems and short stories related to trees, water, and nature conservation between now and the March 2023 deadline. More information and submission instructions here!

Now, for February’s issue. We’re experiencing a visual browsing experience right here in our magazine, perusing pieces of different genres and styles in this combined issue.

Farok Faisal encourages us to cultivate our lives as if they were gardens.

Jeffrey Spahr-Summers’ poetic speakers seek both liberation and sanctuary, and he highlights ordinary life into signboard-esque posters in his photography.

Z.I. Mahmud highlights the role of kindness in Homer’s Odyssey, while Rakhshona Akhmedova poignantly celebrates a friend’s kindness to her puppy.

Laura Stamps explores the potential and the limits of the human capacity to forgive, while Taylor Dibbert expresses the hope that can come through simply moving forward with one’s life.

Obirija Somtochukwu speaks eloquently about the nature of grief and of wanderlust. Aasma Tahir contributes elegant prose on love, nature, emotion and Romantic literature.

Gaurav Ojha urges us to live with a balanced perspective, while Osieka Osinimu Alao finds an entire cosmos and all of human history within his solitary bedroom.

Ari Rice imagines himself existing simultaneously as people of different ages within a single photograph, while Gerry LaFemina waxes nostalgic about the Beatles. Richard LeDue draws on artistic metaphors to highlight our mortality and the brevity of our lives.

J.J. Campbell probes how much we can truly change through the generations, what we keep and what we can hopefully leave behind. Nahid Gul celebrates the joy of sharing writing with the generations who come after us. Starlie Tugade relates the thoughts and feelings of a young immigrant woman reflecting on the lessons of her past. Emmanuel Umeji urges youth to learn from their elders and not be cocky about growing up too fast.

Daniel De Culla talks of aging in his signature earthy, physical way. Ian Copestick finds a form of faith in the renewal of blossoms in the spring, while Mesfakus Salahin speaks of the spiritual renewal he finds in nature.

Channie Greenberg captures horses at gentle moments of contemplation. Mahbub Alam writes of the power of the natural world to restore our perspective when we get caught up in human stresses.

C.L. Liedekev speculates on his and humanity’s future as he looks into water. Will we be devoured by sharks or simply drift away along the river?

Maurizio Brancaleoni renders a tourist’s visit to Italy’s historical relics into its own form of art, while Petro C.K. harnesses predictive text to process human history and nature. Andrew MacDonald turns to state parks as a metaphor for the well-meaning desire to preserve some of our ceaselessly changing world. Ryan Quinn Flanagan contributes his signature humor to probe our human condition and frailty.

Irene Koronas forges poetry as if it were metal in a blacksmith’s foundry. Daniel Y. Harris probes Wittgenstein’s philosophy as if Derrida were a hacker presenting his ideas through malware. J.D. Nelson crafts phrases to highlight our often fragmentary, incomplete and mysterious view of our worlds.

Alan Catlin crafts his words and sequences in a logical order known only to himself, while Jim Meirose renders a visit to the barber as a surreal experience. Mark Young sculpts a papier-mache work out of “found words” from his environment. Joshua Martin scrambles fragments and ideas into their own form of meaning.

David Woodward questions whether human justice systems can ever reach the truth, while James Whitehead presents American political satire through dreams and waking reveries. Sevara Gapporova recommends fresh ideas for restitution and rehabilitation within Uzbekistan’s justice system.

Chris Butler speculates about a dystopian future where human thought and connection become obsolete.

John Edward Culp’s poetic speaker harkens to the voice that matters to him after quiet contemplation. Christina Chin and Uchechukwu Onyedikam finish each other’s sentences in a set of seamless collaborative haikus.

Don McLellan presents a humorous story of culture, intrigue and domestic investigation among South Asian immigrant communities in Canada.

Caleb Ishaya Oseshi presents snapshots of Nigerian city life, people of various ages and genders, all with energy and determination.

Roodly Laurore bears witness to the current violence and tumult in Haiti.

Sandro Piedrahita draws parallels between modern-day political leaders and Shakespearean antiheroes to lament the perennial tragedy of our quest to oppress and dominate others.

Chimezie Ihekuna evokes the physical bliss of romantic attraction in his song lyrics. Ajibola Aljanat speculates how romantic love holds the power to both elevate and destroy humanity. John Tustin renders the grief of losing one’s love, faith, and home into words that dissolve on the page, along with the speaker’s identity and sense of self.

Joseph P. Wechselberger captures the surreal beauty of being caught up in the moment of poetic creation.

Sayani Mukerjee’s poem grants dignity, grace, and beauty to domestic chores. Natasha Leung explores a young woman’s quest for beauty, rendering shaving leg hair as a poetic way to reach softness and grace.

Aloysius S. Harmon acknowledges that boys and men can grieve and feel emotions deeply. Chloe Schoenfeld draws on the language of yesteryear to convey empathy for another’s grief.

Film critic Jaylan Salah describes director Quark Henares’ film Where Is the Lie, a psychological thriller that explores the depths of friendship and gender identity.

We hope this issue is enjoyable and thought-provoking for all.

[surrea(list)]


 what if telepathic rain filled boiling cold cedar streams of dancing ash that rolled upward in incandescent tides to sweet fragrant sloughs of blood-black ammonia rimmed by deer sitting in beach chairs discussing ones-and-zeros in unpatterned rhythms with venomous violets in ancient Aramaic as ticks stalked great hawks mid pyroclastic flows while boldly grinning ferns with Marilyn Monroe hair hummed derisively in tangerine shade beneath turquoise gums dropping warm lavender snow during any season when snakes reproduced into laurel bushes bearing giant red acorns sprouting thorned orchids that softened the forest floor with pearls of conscience while being serenaded by schizophrenic gnats to the meter of pine bombs whispering in the silence of a chaos so loud that the sky deafens the leaves and betrayal was the norm until the belligerent sun separated into vapid sonnet-spewing starlets cheered on by the dumb and the thunderous applause of the handless as the world became a single-celled virus on the tip of a needle plunged into nothingness and infecting the void and what is real is surreal and surreal is so real that everything is relative and relational in an amalgam of disturbing perspective in perception subsumed in a line of poetry born on the wings of a great moment written between hell and whatever describing life and death and death becomes the purgatory of unfinished business and life reveals how stupid it all is and confirms that the poet is the prophet that will become one with the universe
****************************************************

[poetry]



singing in the silence of beats

while words

 

 spin

 

            on

 

                        trapezes

 

deliciously catching

                                    thoughtsinmidair

above uncertainties

                                     highwiring

without nets

 

miraculously

                                    afloat

 

until the roof

blows

off

 

and the fog

 

lifts


*****************************************************

[poetry]


finding lyricism in chaos

listening to the speech of color

seeing the shades of wind

feeling the tingle of time

kissing the memory of was

touching the excitement of is

sensing the truth of now

tasting the world of wow

THE CINNAMON-SKINNED GIRL

I said goodbye to her,
The cinnamon-skinned girl with eyes
As black as coal,
As brown as the earth beneath the earth.
She said goodbye and she was gone

While here I stand,
Drinking from an empty glass,
My tears falling into this endless fountain that spouts
Up into the nothing-at-all;
Looking into eyes as black as coal, as brown as the earth
Beneath the earth
That do not look back at me
And are not really here.
I rest beside the cinnamon-colored skin,
I feel the coolness and calmness for just a moment –
Knowing fully that what I feel is phantom.

I remember the kiss that sealed us.
The kiss that told me that we were us forever:
Just us.
The kiss was a lie but I can still close my eyes
And feel the shape of her lips surrounding my mouth,
So passionate, exquisite:

I still see the eyes as brown and black as brown and black can be.

I can taste her tongue and feel the shape of her lips;
Soft, dangerous, incongruous.

I still feel the skin that bound me to her and, now,
A lifetime of not her.

The skin that bound me to nothing.


CROSS

The memories of us
cling to my back
like the old rugged cross.
The splinter of your lonely figure at the bus stop,
the heaviness of the words I left lying
on the bedroom floor,
the downcast doom of that day
dragging us up to Golgotha,
to the inevitability of our death,
the uncertainty of our resurrection.
 
The memories of us
nailed up above my bed
like that little wooden cross I had
when I was five years old.
I pray to it at night and nothing happens
except a small drunken warmth in my belly
as my eyes leaden
and time keeps going forward anyway,
the bastard.
 
Driving past the church
I spent so many hours in as a boy,
in the choir, as an acolyte,
holding that chalice that the pastor
bent to the lips of the liars and the skullduggers
and the gossips and the philanderers,
Philistines all.
The cross at the top of the church so fascinating,
not ornate but so beautiful, regal, like a still bird,
snow falling whiter than white around it
like a feather crown.
I think of the time
before I knew you
and how happy I was because I didn’t know then
what little I had
like I know what little I have now.

THE LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN

I could hear the laughter in the rain
As it fell to my houseless head

The rivulets as tears falling down my face
The pools of water ever forming at shivering feet

Clothed in rags, dragging bags
Pitiless, eyes cold, manic, gleamy twin coins

Listening for a single gasp of sympathy
But hearing not a sound in the wind

Except the rain, the laughter in the rain,
The run on complaints of the street

The crackling of the moon
And the silence of the stones:

Wet, shining, waiting for my stumble
and my blood

Their faces as impassive as dead hands
And stilled hearts

Their hardness, their uncaring
To be my final bed

PERSON OF INTEREST

Tonight I am of interest to you.
Tomorrow I might die alone.
It’s been like this for me for a long time –
Long before the night not long ago
That I met you.
It’s funny how important someone seems
On a Monday afternoon:
How you can’t wait to get home and call them,
Find out about their day –
And that same person is not even a thought
Just 10 or 20 Monday afternoons later.
I think of all the people I’ve mostly forgotten
And I know that even more have forgotten me.
I remember eating cheesburgers together,
Tucked into that corner of the restaurant;
I remember it now and wonder if she remembers it
Or even remembers my name.
We were together off and on for a year or maybe more –
As time ticks on the measurements get hazier.
She’s living with some guy the last I heard,
Her divorce finally final for a while.
I was just trying to remember what it was like to have sex with her,
How many of my proclivities I exhibited,
How much nonsense I admitted,
What we talked about in the honesty of the dark.
I remember a little but not much.
I don’t know why I’m telling you this.
It sounds like a portent of doom
But it’s on my mind.
There have been so many Monday afternoons already
With different people waiting for my call
Or perhaps at the point where they were dreading it,
Ready to avoid it.
The Monday afternoons to come are less and less.
Hell, it could happen to us in just a few months –
I haven’t heard from you in a while
And I’ve forgotten you
Or, maybe,
You’ve forgotten me and
I’m still waiting for your call.


THE POEMS ARE LIES

Life is nothing like
An early frost upon the grapes
Or
Even
The life cycle of
The honeybee drone.

No.
It’s eating pretzels alone
At midnight
While listening to Enrico Caruso
And knowing that soon,
Too soon,
You will die.
Poetry lies.
You’ll be dead
Someday
And it will always be
Too soon.

The poems are lies.

Life is just like death –
Essentially one on one.
You contemplate and love
And hate and battle with
Yourself.

What you’ll regret most
Is all the lies you told
And the lies
Told
To you
That you
Believed
Were true.
Nothing about honeybees
Or grapes.

John Tustin’s poetry has appeared in many disparate literary journals since 2009. fritzware.com/johntustinpoetry contains links to his published poetry online.

Finally Over

He’s getting divorced,

Remotely,

Very 2022,

And doubting that,

They ever,

Had a chance,

At least,

He’s keeping,

The dog.

Never Finished

He’s had a good,

Morning of writing,

Several poems,

Hundreds of words,

He’s probably done,

For the day,

Even though the work,

Is never truly finished,

Because when you’re writing,

What needs to be written,

There’s always,

Another line,

Or lines,

Another poem,

Or poems,

More thoughts,

And feelings,

More joy,

More pain,

And the blood,

That has to be wiped from the page.

Taylor Dibbert is a widely published writer, journalist, and poet. He’s author of the Peace Corps memoir “Fiesta of Sunset,” and the forthcoming poetry collection “Home Again.”

BAGGY GENERATION

I need no canoe to sail back into

The past, the day my grandfather

Read his adage into every growing ear

Only a puzzle in my brain, & this all

Would re-appear in fresh flesh

We grew up with this adage becoming

The owner of our heart-

The okra herb never duels for height

With its cocky.

As my mother’s tongue has also attested,

My mother’s mother would sew her a cloth

Of pair-able size to her petite nature-

Cutting her cloth in accord with her cloth.

Err NO for this baggy generation

A man’s shoe size is a thousand and two times

Grey-haired than his leg

Every being opine to what isn’t yet

Visible in their weak muscles

A child wants to talk before birth

And run before he crawls

A boy with two teeth is wearing the

Words of fatherhood in his mouth

The beards like scattered mop strands

Beneath the bottom of a child’s mouth

Has been robbed of the esteem of his father.

The baggy generation of

Fat clothing in big thin bodies

makes them another phrase

For a swallowed pill.

Baggy heads yet thin of sense

Everything is baggy! eyes, mind, mouth & motive

On crossed legs, this generation wants

To reach the peak of an alp.