PRAYER TO GOD

Dear God, prayer and hope

Thank you for giving love to my soul

So I know how to love both, a grass and a flower

And all the people on this planet.

Thank you for guiding me along the paths of beauty

That you give me strength to fly with birds

You are in my heart with the angel of goodness

As a blessing and as light itself.

God, that I praise you with a song

My whole being breathes with you

Hear the prayers that the heart does not bleed

Give peace that is no more.

Do not allow departures from home

Let the chaos, bombs and rockets stop

Refugees, uncertainty without an aim and hope

And the pathlessness of this suffering planet. 

Enlighten the reason of this madness 

Cease the wars and conflicts 

Unite the hearts that do not know love

May everyone find peace and freedom.

GORDANA SARIĆ

MONTENEGRO

Dying City

Honking taxis, buses, blue-white buildings reshaping

the city’s flesh and bones, scattered anecdotes,

a murder on the serpentine lane, wagging tongues,

desiccated trams, stained walls, imperial nostalgias,

twilight extrudes the spectral accumulations,

time never progresses here in this dying city

strobic eyeballs of the passerby, not cruising,

the crowd speaking in half- knowledge, are caught

up in the eddies of chaos,

An anemic crow on the branchless tree sharpens

his eyes; untangle the reflection upside down,

The slum boys play football on the roadside park.

A memory dormant, a dirty dark alley draws ambigram.

A clock-tower shines in the first light of the morning sun.

@ gopallahiri

…………………………………………

Threes

1.

At each shout, each footfall,

the wind breaks into a song

under the canopy of rain clouds.

2.

Drumbeats harden in autumnal light

rain drops falling in the puddle,

the round of applause settles.

3.

The images fill up, glimmer and silence

there is a long pause, almost an inertia

of feelings- forsaken, murky.

@gopallahiri

………………………………………………..

Anaphora of This Afternoon

This afternoon is sauntering

through the forest

This afternoon is smeared words

feelings of sorrow.

This afternoon is a retreat from sun

and electric heater.

This afternoon is blood on the streets

for us to lick.

This afternoon is that breaks out

in my heart.

This afternoon is the dim light

of the foyer.

This afternoon is the tongueless mouth

mumbling your name

@gopallahiri

………………………………………………………………..

Tea Pot, cups and two Souls

(Inspired by the painting of Jean-Francois Raffaelli, Art Institute of Chicago)

I extend my hands to touch the canvas-oil on linen,

surely pure colours mix in the original brushstroke.

There two souls sitting together- quiet, pensive, brooding,

tilted heads, woolen hats and white scurf covering grey hairs. 

Tea pot, cups and plates, milk pot, sugar bowl roll out,

No splashing tea, clinking cups and spoons, finger licking.

The tablecloth reminds the fragments of what they know,

soft, silent looks bring the most interesting dreams.

Brick walls and flower plants draw daytime lucidity

the plucky cat alone stiches the hem of the afternoon.

Aroma of fresh tea oozes magical, daylight doze, 

no one is to hold them in check, to steer their new age journey.

Time and space for being lost and in a kind of hurry

A lingering whiff, it says about tomorrow.

©gopallahiri

……………………………………………………….

Intense Love Stories

I walk through the vast fields of mustard

in the breezy and windswept morning.

The golden heads are falling on my toes,

touching and calming my bare feet.

I lie down on the grass, let the haze and

miasma come in and roll me back,

Two sparrows stand on their wonky feet,

each in the ease of a single, feathery body.

Bees wait at a distance on the tip of a white

flower, sunrays touch their shining faces.

It’s a hot summer day, but there in the water

a flock of geese winging fast, an epoch melts,

Singing, chirping, roaming where lilies stand,

This morning taps out intense love stories.

@gopallahiri

…………………………………………….

Gopal Lahiri is a bilingual poet, critic, editor, and translator. He has authored 31 books, including eight solo/jointly edited books. His poems are published across more than 150 journals and translated in 18 languages He has been nominated for Pushcart Prize for poetry in 2021. He has received Setu Excellence Award, Pittsburgh, US, in poetry in 2020 and Ukiyoto award  for poetry in 2022. He has been conferred First Jayanta Mahapatra National Award on literature in 2024. Recent Credits: One Art Journal, Ink, Sweat & Tears, Shot Glass Journal, MasticadoresUSA, MasticadoresTaiwan, Amythyst Review, Verse-Virtual Journal, Setu Journal, Kitaab Journal and International Times.

In 3 Minutes of Listening

The beat

of this country

is near

everlasting

bells ringing long ago

and now

the brokenness healing

blowing down walls

and hearts bursting open

with glorious endless love

seeing

through the trees

branches open to all of us

even when we cut them down

treehouse built by Daddy

for children touching the sky

with dreams of flight

and no fear of falling

cloud pillows

and flying carpets

when our fathers leave us

by dying on the vine

we will sob within ourselves

growing older

in a world whirling too fast

until we realize

not fast enough.

Sacrifice

Books opened

to torn out pages

wondering why someone did that

when trees died

to make the paper pages

and sometimes the ink

made with blood…

Wisdom

My 93-year-old mother laughs

and my wife does a dance

in the center of the living room

as 3 old people remember

there’s more to come.

I Can’t Stop Loving You
‎
‎

Is time new? ls time old?

‎How can I say to you?

‎How am I to know?

‎Why is it snowing?

‎Why is your everything without me?

‎The world is motionless.

‎I want to back in time

‎I want to back in you

‎I want to feel the spring of magic moment

‎Love won’t end

‎Time won’t change the sun.

‎

‎Give me another chance

‎Come back and touch my heart

‎You are still living here

‎I am not the slave of time

‎Was l wrong? Were you wrong?

‎Who will break the cell of egg?

‎It is l who am always ready

‎Hear my heart and  touch my arms

‎You are everywhere

‎You are around my dream

‎You may be false, your love may be false But I am true

‎My love is true

‎I have never divided my mind into two

‎I have never walked another way

‎I have read the tears of my love

‎Take my heart into your heart

‎Take my life

‎My love is true and timeless

‎It is virgin and pure

‎I can’t stop loving you.

‎

‎Ask your soul about me

‎Ask yourself about me

‎Let me know your answer.

‎I don’t care your answer

‎I love you

‎And l can’t stop loving you.

The frenzied whirl of the newsroom is the centerpiece for SOLD ON A MONDAY, an historical fiction novel to be easily savored and digested within a couple of days. You won’t be able to put this one down.

Cigar smoke, paper airplanes flying, loud chatter, phones ringing, reporters scurrying about spilling coffee, crumpled paper being tossed in rubbish bins, and rushed stand-up meetings happening in small spaces. All of this activity and the flurry of competition between reporters hungry for the next story are well portrayed by author Kristina McMorris.

The ability to create a definitive mood from chapter 1’s opening paragraph through to the last page of this book, is a stunning feat. As McMorris masterfully paints this literary masterpiece, she blends together an array of colors and textures, using tiny vivid details and subtle emotional nuance, all of which make this story sing.

As we travel through the chapters, the two lead characters, Ellis Reed and Lily Palmer, gradually reveal their human flaws. Yet, each possess a heart of gold.

The trigger to this compelling tale takes place when Ellis makes a snap decision under pressure at the very start of the book. As an aspiring junior news reporter seeking his first sizzling headline, he hopes to capture the hearts and minds of readers, as well as reel in attention from his newspaper chief.

The setting for the story is the East Coast, including the farmlands of Pennsylvania, the city of Pittsburgh, and the heart of New York City. The year is 1931, in the midst of the Great Depression and prohibition. Ellis has staged a photograph to ‘cover his ass’ with his tough demanding boss. The photo is a fake, set up to look like something real but that factually, ‘is not.’ The photograph and its evocative heart-tugging caption become ultra-popular with the masses, and Ellis’ career is launched into the big-time news world.

Ellis achieves his dream but the featured photograph and caption also serve to set off a ‘domino effect’ with grave repercussions; all caused by his unethical ‘spur of the moment’ decision. The result is a family torn apart, with two children placed in great danger, leaving Ellis emotionally broken because of the heavy guilt he carries. His dilemma is an ethical one, faced with how to ‘right a wrong’ that’s remained secret for months.

When Lily, also an aspiring reporter with a hidden past, enters the picture, readers will delight in the twists and turns that follow, and how their paths will intertwine.

This novel will undoubtedly have readers on the edge of their seats. There’s action, family tension, unrequited love, passion, and characters who must deal with challenging societal pressures, including ‘seedy’ crime bosses out to eliminate anyone that gets in their way.

But the real impact of this read for me personally was the tug on my emotions which caused me to think about at least one snap decision I made in my life that, unfortunately, set a fireball rolling downhill; and my world, as I knew it, tilted.

Everyone reading this work likely has at least one on-the-spot decision that they deeply regret. And that is why the lead characters in this novel are compelling and relatable.

SOLD ON A MONDAY, by Kristina McMorris, is one helluva read! I highly recommend picking this one up.

DETERMINING THE CONSISTENCY OF PHRASEOLOGICAL COMPOSITION

Xadjiyeva Nodira

Qoraqalpoq davlat universiteti

Filologiya va tillarni o’qitish:

Ingliz tili 4-bosqich talabasi

     Annotation: This article looks at how stable or consistent fixed expressions—like idioms, collocations, and set phrases—are in everyday language. It explains why some expressions stay the same in form and meaning, while others can change a little without losing their sense. The paper breaks down different types of stability, such as structure, word choice, and meaning, and shows how they help these phrases keep their original form. The author uses examples from real texts (corpus linguistics) and simple tests to understand how fixed these expressions really are. The article also talks about how these phrases can be different in other languages and how culture affects them. In the end, the study shows why understanding fixed expressions  is important in language learning, translation, and even computer programs that work with language. This work is useful for students, teachers, and anyone interested in how language really works.

      Key words: phraseological units, fixed expressions, consistency, stability, idioms, collocations, semantic cohesion, linguistic analysis

     Abstract: Phraseological units are a fundamental part of any language’s lexicon, reflecting cultural values, cognitive patterns, and stylistic tendencies. This paper investigates the internal consistency of phraseological composition in the English language. It explores the criteria that govern the structure, stability, and usage of phraseological expressions, focusing on idioms, collocations, and fixed expressions. The study adopts a corpus-based approach to identify recurring phraseological patterns and their syntactic and semantic behavior in different contexts. The findings aim to enhance the theoretical understanding of phraseology and offer practical insights for language teaching and computational applications.

 Introduction Phraseology is a branch of linguistics that deals with fixed or semi-fixed combinations of words, known as phraseological units (PUs). These units include idioms (e.g., kick the bucket), collocations (e.g., make a decision), proverbs, and other set expressions. Their importance lies in the way they enrich language, express abstract ideas succinctly, and reflect social and cultural norms.

However, not all phraseological units exhibit the same degree of consistency. Some are fixed and unchangeable, while others allow variation. Determining the consistency of phraseological composition helps linguists and language users understand which parts of the expression are stable and which can be modified without altering meaning. This consistency also impacts how PUs are processed cognitively, how they are learned by non-native speakers, and how they are represented in dictionaries and language technologies.

        This paper explores the concept of phraseological consistency from multiple dimensions: structural (grammatical), semantic (meaning-related), and contextual (pragmatic). By examining authentic examples from corpora, the study identifies patterns that signal phraseological stability and variation. The term “phraseological unit” was first formalized in Russian and European linguistic traditions, particularly by scholars such as Vinogradov and Kunin. In English linguistics, similar concepts have been discussed under terms like “idioms,” “collocations,” and “fixed expressions.”

        A phraseological unit can be broadly defined as a multi-word expression that functions as a single semantic unit. These units often have non-literal meanings, especially in idioms, and are stored in the mental lexicon as prefabricated chunks. Linguists typically categorize phraseological units into:

   Idioms – expressions with non-compositional meaning (spill the beans).

   Collocations – predictable word combinations (strong tea, commit a crime).

    Phrasal verbs – verbs with particles whose meaning is not deducible from the parts (look after).

    Clichés and fixed expressions – stereotypical phrases used in social contexts (Nice to meet you, Best regards).

Structural consistency refers to the fixedness of the grammatical structure in a phraseological unit. For example, kick the bucket cannot be changed to kick a bucket or kicked the buckets without losing its idiomatic meaning. Some collocations, however, are more flexible (make/made/makes a decision), though they still exhibit a preferred structure. This refers to the stability of the lexical components within a PU. In highly consistent units, specific words cannot be replaced without altering meaning (break the ice, not shatter the ice). In less consistent units, some variability is permitted (give/take/have a look).

        Phraseological units vary in terms of how transparent their meaning is. Fully idiomatic expressions like kick the bucket are semantically opaque and highly consistent. In contrast, semi-transparent expressions such as make a choice are more flexible and their meaning is derivable from the parts. Certain phraseological units appear consistently in specific genres or registers. Legal language, for instance, uses fixed phrases like null and void, while everyday conversation prefers idioms like hit the sack. The consistency of usage across contexts also determines how recognizable and fixed a PU is perceived. To analyze phraseological consistency empirically, this study examined data from the British National Corpus (BNC) and Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). The method involved identifying frequently occurring phraseological units and observing their patterns of usage.

Methodology: Selection of 50 common phraseological expressions. Examination of frequency, structural variation, and lexical substitution. Categorization based on idiomatically and contextual flexibility. About 60% of the expressions were structurally fixed. Highly idiomatic units showed minimal variation. Some collocations, though semantically transparent, were preferred in particular forms. Contextual data confirmed that genre plays a role in preserving phraseological consistency. Understanding phraseological consistency has practical benefits:

    Language Teaching: Teachers can prioritize fixed PUs for memorization and teach flexible ones through pattern recognition.

    Lexicography: Dictionaries can mark degrees of variability to aid learners.

    Computational Linguistics: NLP systems benefit from clear data on phraseological units for better parsing, machine translation, and sentiment analysis.

In conclusion, phraseological composition in English demonstrates varying degrees of consistency. Fixed idioms maintain high structural and lexical rigidity, while collocations and semi-fixed expressions allow some flexibility. Corpus analysis confirms that consistency is influenced by grammatical form, lexical selection, semantic opacity, and contextual use. Understanding these patterns not only deepens linguistic knowledge but also enhances applications in education and technology.

                                        List of used literature:

1. Glaser, R. (1984). The Stylistic Potential of Phraseological Units in the Light of Genre Analysis.

2. Cowie, A. P. (1998). Phraseology: Theory, Analysis, and Applications. Oxford University Press.

3. Mel’cuk, I. A. (1995). Phrasemes in Language and Phraseology in Linguistics.

4. Fernando, C. (1996). Idioms and Idiomaticity. Oxford University Press.

5. Moon, R. (1998). Fixed Expressions and Idioms in English: A Corpus-Based Approach. Oxford University Press.

                                                    Articles:

6. Wray, A. (2002). Formulaic Language and the Lexicon. Cambridge University Press.

7. Granger, S., & Meunier, F. (2008). Phraseology: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. John Benjamins.

8. Biber, D., Conrad, S., & Cortes, V. (2004). If you look at…: Lexical Bundles in University Teaching and Textbooks. Applied Linguistics.

Guardian

the sun sets early in september,

when you are praised for your age

and I’m reminded that

i will never have that man again.

Father,

where did i go wrong?

the half of you that is

the half of me

stings through

my achievements.

in eager need, 

eventually, you delivered,

seemingly making it

easier to be deceived.

i walk across miles of gravel singularly

sacrificing my souI

for your needs

only to be called selfish.

i refuse to see our similarities.

Father,

you will never amount to her.

yet there is still a place in my heart

to fit my love for you.

Through the Lanes

On the first lane I place my palms

downward face to the grass and relax to

reflect on neglect. 

On the second lane the true midnight blue 

of her silence weeps down towards the curfew

leaving me in wonder.

On the third lane I observe and admire the exposure of discovery;

discovery of my path of exposure I was told

I was not capable of living.

For once in my life I am enclosed by

decisions incapable of being expressed through nature.

To love is to hate and

To hate is to release and

To release is to fail and to fail

is to love once more.