Image c/o Jacques Fleury

Duane Vorhees announces his new book Fastival, available from Hog Press.

Fastival, the latest book of poems from Duane Vorhees, reads as anything but the poet’s final word and contains multitudes of playful exploration for the restless mind.

Covering a dizzying array of themes, this substantial tome delivers an intellectual and spiritual feast. He explores dichotomies — such as sex/love, profane/holy, and life/death — that are suitable for meditation by sinner and saint, as well as by day laborer and tenured professor alike.

Vorhees, in his poem “The Importance of Word Association,” proclaims anyone can write poetry but notes, “But only a true poem can feel the sun on your face as the snow commandos parachute in behind enemy lines. A real poem contains stone syllables standing against a rain-striped horizon.” — John Stephen Howard

Yucheng Tao thanks everyone who entered his poetry contest and announces that the prizes will be paid out in April.

Christopher Bernard announces his new book The Beauty of Matter (out from Bowker Press) and invites people to read and review it. Please email us at synchchaos@gmail.com if you’re interested.

A lyrical journey into nature, spirit, and the quiet mysteries of being aliveIn this contemporary poetry collection, Christopher Bernard invites readers into a world where ordinary moments reveal extraordinary depth. With the grace of lyrical verse and the clarity of philosophical insight, these poems move through landscapes of memory, nature, beauty, and our shared human search for meaning.This is poetry for readers who crave emotional richness, mindful presence, and poetic meditations that illuminate both the fragile and the eternal. Through imagery rooted in wild earth, myth, and the intimate spaces of everyday life, the poems contemplate existence, loss, renewal, and the astonishing beauty hidden within matter itself.

A Celebration of Life in Every Grain of Being

Here are poems where the natural world speaks, where silence becomes revelation, and where spirit and earth touch.

Bernard explores mortality not with despair, but with wonder, reminding us that every breath, every shadow, every passing moment is charged with significance. Readers will find nature inspired writing that moves between tenderness and awe, between solitude and belonging, revealing how deeply our lives are shaped by the world around us and the world within us.

For Lovers of Reflective and Soulful Poetry

Perfect for readers of lyrical verse collection and philosophical poetry, this book speaks to those who seek: poems about nature and life, existential poems, meditations on life, spiritual poetic reflections, poetry about mortality and rebirth, poems about memory and meaning.

If you believe poetry can open the heart and sharpen the senses, if you are drawn to poetic meditations that deepen presence and expand awareness, this collection belongs in your hands.

Discover a voice that honors the beauty of existence and the mystery of being human.

Now, for March’s second issue, which forms a polyphonic archive of the contemporary human condition, fragmented, globalized, anxious, but full of people searching for meaning, beauty, and connection. A chorus of voices from different countries, cultures, ages, and backgrounds, all speaking to how we can remain human in a complicated age.

First, we address war, violence, and illegitimate political power. These pieces do not merely document suffering; they interrogate the structures that produce it. They ask what it means to live under systems that distort truth, normalize destruction, and erode empathy. Yet even here, amid devastation, there is an undercurrent of resistance—a refusal to accept violence and injustice as inevitable.

Patricia Doyne lambasts the United States’ blowing up a girls’ school during the war in Iran. Stephen Jarrell Williams laments the coldness and human tragedy that leads to war. Ibrahim Honjo calls for peace by cursing those who wish for war. Bhagirath Choudhary’s poem, translated to French by Samar Al-Deek, also critiques war through the dramatization of violence against women and children. Poet Billy Bin celebrates women and laments war and human rights violations. Mykyta Ryzhykh’s work comments on human fragility and the internal and external destruction caused by vaulting ambition and greed for power. Farzaneh Dorri laments the war and the current government of Iran while recollecting the nation’s vast cultural heritage. Molly Joseph’s piece presents the tragedy of war through a clever piece that hides its profundity in a childlike style. Ri Hossain critiques war by showing the absurdity of having to kill strangers. Bill Tope’s short story presents a tragicomic farce that reveals itself as a lament for those lost to the recent Iranian war. Dessy Tsvetkova joins the chorus of those who call for peace as Hadaa Sendoo presents a child’s song for peace with nature and with themselves as well as in the world. Gulhayo Egamberganova creates a tale of a wise king with the welfare of his people in mind. Dianne Reeves Angel’s political poem describes how callous leadership can lead to internal, structural damage to our shared “house,” even when we don’t see outright collapse. Yuray Tolentino Hevia asserts his freedom of thought and personal dignity even in a wounded homeland. Imma Schiema presents the flag of peace as strong, but stiff, unnatural, and difficult to maintain. Peace takes maintenance and care.

Some contributors explore how systems of power, or our cultural vantage points and perceptions, shape how we think and view the world. Rich Murphy’s work explores how power and hierarchy can distort reality and get in the way of critical thinking. Dr. Jernail Singh Anand lampoons the hypocrisy of those who seek to bury their own misdeeds among those of celebrities. Stephen Schwei’s clever work meditates on how we assign meanings to things and aspects of the universe. Wan Yilong dramatizes the absurdity of a world full of technology but with no soul. Mark Young’s speaker assembles meaning from fractured cultural debris, his mind moving through fragments. Ag Davis’ poetry blurs the guidelines of semantics to generate meaning through pattern recognition rather than text. S.C. Flynn explores different ways we disconnect from the fully intense human experience to make it more manageable, whether through pills or screens.

Türkan Ergör’s piece breaks apart language and puts it back together, questioning whether reason can adequately explain human experience. Maja Milojkovic explores the tension between imagination and reality in her reflective poem on making a wish. Mark DuCharme’s poem explores thirst and desire that twists and morphs but is never quite satiated. J.J. Campbell’s poems read like cigarette smoke in a dim room, unfiltered, bitter, and honest. Patrick Sweeney’s work explores memory, shame, art, invention, nature, and tenderness as the Chinese elementary school students’ works, compiled by Su Yun, show a developing poetic consciousness as they address nature and dreams.

Dr. Jernail S. Anand considers how much we as humans project our own failings onto other creatures through our concept of natural law. Sevinch Rustamova explores human projection, lamenting the loss of a no longer idealized unfaithful love. James Tian reflects on how we choose to speak of our dead can say as much about us as the living as it does about the deceased. Nirasha D’Almeida speaks to memory, reflection, power, and class and ethnic tensions. In Emeniano Acain Somoza Jr.’s elegiac poem, time continues to move, even as the speaker remains within memory. Sheryl Bize-Boutte’s poem and short story excerpt highlight how connection can persist even when we reject it. Qo’narova Yulduz mourns and regrets the loss of her loved one and of her life to grief.

Some writers highlight resilience and personal growth, the journey to become who we are, all that we could become. Nazokat Jumaniyozova traces a character’s personal growth and development. Danijela Ćuk encourages people to believe in themselves and persevere through hard times. Zilola Qutlimurotva calls out the role of challenges in building strong character. Priyanka Neogi urges people who seek to achieve something in life to keep their priorities straight. Ruxshona Shahobiddinova shares how she learned to achieve for her own sake and not compare herself to others. Rashidova Shakhrizoda’s short story celebrates a brave kitten who becomes a hero of the forest. Muslimbek Abdurakhimov reminds us that anyone can act with integrity, regardless of nationality. Zilola Qutlimurotva points out reactions one may receive to developing self-respect. Juraeva Aziza Rakhmatovna urges people to persevere towards their goals even through obstacles. Gabriel T. Saah encourages us to stay humble, stay kind and make the most of our lives.

Others discuss education, youth, and the future. Rakhmonova Gulzoda Sodiq qizi discusses how to help depressed young students. Daminova Sevinch highlights the importance of childhood to personal development. Choriyeva Oynur discusses the importance of sleep in personal health and academic performance. Dildora Xo’jyozova remembers earning recognition and a laptop in an Uzbek academic competition and reflects on the importance of encouraging the world’s youth. Ibragimova Orzigul Sharobiddinova’s poem celebrates her university and its educational opportunities. Alimqulova Munisa Abdurayimovna discusses how students can best prepare themselves for international scholarship competition. Bekturdiyeva Nargizabonu and Xayitova Mehribon discuss positive and negative impacts of social media in young people’s lives.

Several contributors apply their intellects to the real world, science, mathematics, economics, and medicine. Oroqova Nargiza outlines roles for artificial intelligence in health care. Tadjiboyeva Marxaboxon Sherzodbek qizi discusses diagnosis and treatment of chronic heart failure. Inomova Kamola discusses diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Durdona Shafqatullayeva Olimqizi outlines the structure and function of the human skeleton. Dr. Jitender Singh dispels embarrassment and shame surrounding menstruation and promotes hygiene. Sardorjon Ahmadjon o’g’li Ergashev discusses various ways of analyzing and interpreting statistics. Mamatkulova Muklisa outlines opportunities and risks within the maturing microcredit industry. Tuychiyeva Odinaxon Ahmadjon qizi outlines ways to standardize the preparation of graphical documents in school drafting classes.

Who we are, in large part, comes from our family and cultural heritage. Yulduz Niyazova highlights the history and meaning of Uzbekistan’s Nawruz spring celebration. Jacques Fleury’s photographs capture the spirit and energy of Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Sardorjon Nabiyev remembers a tale of singing for neighbors at Ramadan that ended with his father’s tender love. Begijonova Marjonabonu shares a tender thought for her mother. Eshmatova Charos speaks of her gratitude to her caring mother and father. Turg’unov Alisher Yordamali o’g’li expresses his respect for his hardworking mother. Ahmadov Bekzodjon Obidjon ogli highlights the literary and cultural importance of Uzbek writer and philosopher Chol’pon. Damilova Sevinch Tuychi qizi highlights the cultural and dramatic contributions of historical Uzbek writer Abdulla Avloni. Halilova Ruxshona Abdufattohovna provides an overview of the scientific work of Abu Nasr al-Farabi, an Uzbek thinker who espoused rational inquiry and built upon Greek thought. Sottiyeva Gulshan celebrates the Uzbek constitution’s protections of liberty. Marvaridabonu Abdumalikov discusses Uzbekistan’s current environmental initiatives, including a vast program to plant tree seedlings and civic waste sorting and recycling efforts. Otamurodova Asal highlights the role of strong families in building a strong culture in Uzbekistan. Kholbekov Ozodbek Makhammatovich’s poem celebrates the sacred and worthy heritage of Uzbekistan’s national heroes and scholars.

Sitora Siroj qizi Usmonova looks at the use of emojis in text messages and social media as a case study of Uzbek linguistic evolution in real time. Jerome Berglund’s stream of consciousness poems illuminate how things hidden – people, truth, meaning – don’t disappear, but wait to be seen. Joey Whitton’s poems move across very different terrains, such as mysticism, memory, existential philosophy, and political satire, but they’re unified by a restless, searching voice. Alan Catlin builds a poetic cathedral of collapse, a symphonic logic of accumulation. Duane Vorhees contributes a symphony of voices that find a way to hang together.

Art, literature, and culture are integral parts of our heritage, and many people look into how we understand stories and art. Christopher Bernard discusses poignant themes of masculinity, love, aggression, and redemption in Beauty and the Beast and the somewhat awkward presentation in Opera Parallele’s live stage remix of the Jean Cocteau film. Maxmasharifova Shodiyabegim looks at the theme of fear in Abdulla Qahhor’s short story Dakshat as a way of critiquing governmental and social oppression. Abdugʻaniyeva Muhlisa Abdunabi qizi analyzes Jack London’s winter wilderness survival tale Love of Life in terms of literary motifs and themes of free will and individual struggle in harsh conditions. J.T. Whitehead reviews Margaret Randall’s Letters That Breathe Fire, an anthology of literary correspondence among the editors who submitted to the journal El Corno Emplumado (The Plumed Horn) in the 1960s. He views the work as a crucial cultural artifact documenting poetry’s becoming more democratic and international. Alexander Klujev outlines various ways to understand music: as a venue for spiritual contemplation, as an abstract study in sound, or as direct participation in the sounds and rhythms of nature. Dennis Vannatta reflects on a life shaped and punctuated by music. Virginia Aronson celebrates the complex work and life of Japanese visual artist Yayoi Kusama.

Art and culture can lead us to a lyrical, restorative place, where we consider love, nature, and the human spirit. Eva Lianou Petropoulou affirms the largeness and vastness of the human spirit, much larger than any attempt by society to contain it. JoyAnne O’Donnell takes joy in poetry on World Poetry Day. Eva also urges humans not to abandon empathy for and relationships with each other. Slava Božičevic celebrates poetry and encourages poets to write to bring love into the world. Prasanna Kumar’s poetry reflects how he needs love to make sense of existence. Abigail George’s work shows characters choosing love, kindness, and forgiveness, even when they are not strong enough to stop trauma and violence. Mahbub Alam contributes a piece on waiting, restraint, and the persistence of the inner light of love as Su Yun encourages a young child to grow and develop courage and embrace a world of love.

Genevieve Guevara presents a poetic manifesto about ending violence against women. Sherdonayeva Ozoda Mahmarajab qizi’s short story highlights the obstacles facing women leaving abusive relationships. Lan Xin also honors International Women’s Day, softly and gently urging women to value and take care of themselves. Mahmoud Said Kawash outlines the political and cultural history of International Women’s Day. Dr. Jitender Singh celebrates the virtues of many women he admires. Dr. Ahmed Al-Qaisi evokes the poetic beauty of a woman’s tender love. Tasneem Hossain discusses the historical and cultural meanings of flowers as gifts and urges people to consider flowers as an International Women’s Day gift for women.

Brian Barbeito revels in the mystical and thoughtful connection he has built with the land he regularly visits, how time alone in nature invites contemplation. Adham Boghdady celebrates the beauty of a forest lake through his contemplative persona poem. Soumen Roy rejoices with the hope of a fresh spring season. Ananya Guha’s incantatory poem claws out hope from the starkness of winter.

Sometimes a small sensation, image, or moment counts for everything. Mohira Mirzayeva celebrates the joys of silent reading from a physical book. Bonu Jurayeva reminds us of the sensory pleasures of physical books. Noah Berlatsky celebrates the wealth of love that he finds in his affectionate cat and dog. David Sapp contributes gentle, pensive moments of family and domesticity. Christina Chin’s haikus transport us to the sounds and feel of summer. Tammy Higgins’ photographs present life as surprising, highlighting disparate elements and unusual colors and perspectives. Jacques Fleury’s poem travels between the worlds of belonging and isolation, wealth and poverty, anchored by the recurring image of ships. Nuraini Usman’s photos capture moments of mystery: dim light, and a foot stepping into the unknown. In Sayani Mukherjee’s poem, rain, letters, memory, and love all blend together into one immersive experience. Graciela Noemi Villaverde welcomes the autumn to her Argentinian home with lush, atmospheric prose about transitions. Elaine Murray finds connection across millennia with humans and other creatures who have walked the same beach.

The final pieces return us to the act of creation itself. They ask what responsibility the artist bears in a world marked by injustice and fragmentation. If we can imagine, can we also rebuild? If we can name what is broken, can we help to mend it? These are not questions with easy answers, but they are questions that must be asked.

Christopher Bernard’s final installment of Senor Despair ends with an affirmation of a creator’s radical responsibility. Jose Luis Alderete’s work suggests the possibility of rebuilding society through intentional acts of human creativity. Tokhtaboyeva Nilufar Nomonjon qizi urges her fellow Uzbeks to move forward with courage to build up their newly independent country. Mesfakus Salahin speaks to the hope of global renewal through love and insight. Hanaan Abdelkader affirms her determination to find hope in a world full of injustice, yet leafy and sunlit.

What emerges from this collection is not resolution, but recognition. We hope that you recognize yourselves somewhere in the issue.

On the Pier

I gazed at a moment

From the Marblehead shore

On the pier’s end

A thick muscled arm

Thrust into lake Erie

When the early morning sun

Bounced on the horizon

An infant Apollo tossing 

Flecks of gold leaf paint

Across a restless surface

A father and son cast

Then hook and net two bass

Their rods bowing in unison

Just as a mom and baby

In her stroller arrive

A Madonna and child

Bringing luck

The men seem to want

To rub the baby’s head

With fishy hands

The fisherman and their catch

Pose for a snapshot

The mouths of the fish 

Sucking the air for water

Open as wide as

The men’s boyish grins

And an old couple arrive

On skinny weathered legs

In time to see the fish

Returned to the waves

Their scales for a moment

Throwing a reflection of light

Waiting for Dad

Not so long ago when Dad was spotting timber

I’d follow him up

Steep wooded hills

And beg him to wait

As I caught my breath

His silhouette ablaze

By the sun at the crest

And now after he’s lit up

And sucked down the smoke

Of five decades of cigarettes

The white sticks tally marks

Of hours days and years

After I quit worrying about

Cancer emphysema and stroke

He helps me move from Main Street to Hill Road

And as we dance

With a fat mattress

He asks me to wait

At the top of the stairs

His lungs clutching at air

His chest and

My heart heaving

For Thirty-Eight Years

After thirty-eight years

I need a few pills

To ease the ache

Of love’s history

There wasn’t much schooling

For love when I was growing up

For thirty-eight years

I’ve worked at love

Like being tied to the line

For ten and twelve hour shifts

Or for thirty-eight years

Shoveling corn

Or cow shit all day

And digging post holes 

For putting up fence

After thirty-eight years

I see love easily

Wrapping warmth 

Around my heart

When my baby daughter

Tosses me a smile

Like she’s been doing it 

For thirty-eight years

Pills

Clasp the comfort

Of an amber bottle

When shaken distracts

Like a baby’s rattle reads

Take two tablets twice a day

To smile permanently

An immaculate plastic smile

To recite the right words

At the right time

To the right face

To get noticed and promoted

Gratified and acquitted

To get what’s wanting

When it’s craving

Where it’s lacking

There’s no need to gnaw

On the bitter pretty colors

There’s no need to swallow hard

Kiss them before they slide

Over the tongue and slip

Smoothly into the belly’s nest

Shoving despair aside

There’s no need to notice

A hollowness in a promise

Surging through the veins

With ardent seduction

They’re absolutely-iron-clad-guaranteed

To keep a head serene

In My Pocket

I carry pain in my pocket 

A small smooth stone

Once an ugly jagged rock 

Dulled and polished

By the stream’s hard current

My hand finds it easily – as predictably

As winter drifts and spring buds

And occasionally I remove it

From my denim reliquary

Open my fist and in my palm

Exhibit it as a famous gem

Its mysticism as potent

As a splinter of the true cross

I chat casually about its history

As a bored museum guard

Or as an old veteran who shows

A wide-eyed boy the bullet

Which pierced his chest in the Pacific

On a few winter days each year

I allow the tears to fall

Like snowflakes drifting

Large and reluctantly

From heaven to earth

To wet the stone

And wear it away 

Slightly more

Five Stitches

Five stitches in my back

I can’t reach the wound

Only you can dress it

Each morning before work

With ointment bandage and tape

In hurried maneuvers

Or in a slow loving ritual

We do this together as with

Groceries supper dishes laundry cleaning

Raising our children

And when the day is finished

Falling asleep entwined

In front of the TV

Or making love

With drowsy tenderness

And with a little passion    

About the Author.

David Sapp, writer and artist, is the recipient of Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Grants for poetry and art and is a Pushcart nominee. His poetry and prose appear widely in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Asia. His publications include articles in the Journal of Creative Behavior; several chapbooks; a novel, Flying Over Erie; a book of poems and drawings, Drawing Nirvana; and four books of poetry and prose, Love and History, Acquaintances, A Precious Transience, and a memoir titled The Origin of Affection, winner of the Violet Reed Haas Poetry Award.

Poetry Daylight 

On this sunny day 

filled with blue skies array,

made of ink and white clouds of paper 

The words come closer,

To the gentle timepiece of words 

A poem where goodness rests

And Angels blest,

In a place of golden heartbeats

In a great embrace where peace beats

Shines many colors of the rainbow.

We Haven’t Met Yet

We haven’t met yet,
We were supposed to go to war together;
Yet, you went to battle alone, becoming my very adversary.
Still, we haven’t met yet,
Because I never went to war.

A black cat blocked my path,
Facing the movement of the parrots,
I have withdrawn my weapons.
The sissoo trees have welcomed me into their fold—
Whose shadows fall even in the sun, like a drizzling rain.
There is no wailing in the sound of the wind,
Only the eternal friendship of sunlight, breeze, and leaves.
I am now with the fish, we do not have to go to war…

Even then, we are marked for slaughter…
Since we haven’t met yet,
You haven’t been able to kill me.
To destroy me, you are building heavy missiles,
Warplanes, even nuclear bombs;
While I am weaving a net of sky-blue dreams.

If we ever meet, I will give you the messages of the birds,
I will take flight with you like wild geese,
I will build nests on new islands;
If we ever meet, I will give you love.

We haven’t met yet;
You are searching for me to kill,
And I am searching for you to love.

POETS, WRITE

ABOUT LOVE

The Poets of our

Planet Earth,

of the planet that is

our only home…

You, who have

the gift from God’s altar, the gift for

promoting light of

the Universe…

Poets, switch on

the lights in

every soul.

Let the lights shine

to dispel this dark cloud towering over our only planet…

Poets you have the keys to opening up

every soul.

Write verses about Love, celebrate Love, may Love

bloom in every heart….

Poets, you are

 the torchbearers

of light and love,

you are the leaders

to a spiritual and

better world.

Poets, write about

Love and spreard Love around,

may Love rule 

the world…..

Poem by

Slava Božičevic, Croatia

大自然

何诗琪（10岁，小荷诗社）

大自然，大自然

有花有草

有树有木

它们无处不在

蒲公英和风有约定

所以我不吹

Nature

He Shiqi (10, Xiaohe Poetry Society)

Nature, nature,

With flowers and grass,

With trees and woods,

They are everywhere.

The dandelion has a promise with the wind,

So I won’t blow.

  ….      ……..

世界

肖世琪（10岁，小荷诗社）

世界，世界

优美的世界

和平的世界

平等的世界

我喜欢这个世界

The World

Xiao Shiqi (10, Xiaohe Poetry Society)

The world, the world,

A beautiful world,

A peaceful world,

An equal world.

I love this world.

 ………….

乡村

席江平（10岁，小荷诗社）

乡村，乡村

纯真的乡村

漂亮的乡村

富有的乡村

和谐的乡村

迷人的乡村

五颜六色的乡村

Countryside

Xi Jiangping (10, Xiaohe Poetry Society)

Countryside, countryside,

Innocent countryside,

Beautiful countryside,

Prosperous countryside,

Harmonious countryside,

Charming countryside,

Colorful countryside.

 ………..

乡下人家

付凌微（10岁，小荷诗社）

乡下人家，乡下人家

绿树青藤瓜架

春雨嫩笋鲜花

群鸡悠闲觅食

池中鸭鹅玩耍

Country Folk

Fu Lingwei (10, Xiaohe Poetry Society)

Country folk, country folk,

Green trees and green vines on the trellis,

Spring rain, tender bamboo shoots and fresh flowers.

Flocks of chickens forage leisurely,

Ducks and geese play in the pond.

 ……

我的梦想

陈歆彤（11岁，小荷诗社）

我的梦想，我的梦想

太阳有上升的方向

星星有发光的亮点

而我，只有一个小小的梦——

优秀的幼儿园老师

每次看见小孩子

那些可爱的瞬间

心会被融化

为了这个小小的梦

我可做出了大大的努力

刘老师说：当幼儿园老师没那么容易呢

你要会唱歌、跳舞、画画

样样都会

于是所有假期里

我一直在学习这些才艺

追梦大无惧

我们一起吧！

My Dream

Chen Xintong (11, Xiaohe Poetry Society)

My dream, my dream,

The sun has a direction to rise,

The stars have bright spots to shine.

But I have only a tiny dream —

To be an excellent kindergarten teacher.

Why?

Every time I see the little ones,

Those lovely moments,

My heart melts.

For this tiny dream,

I have made great efforts.

Teacher Liu said:

Being a kindergarten teacher isn’t that easy,

You must be able to sing, dance, and draw,

Be good at everything.

So during all the holidays,

I keep learning these skills.

Fearless in chasing dreams,

Let’s go together!

家

卢佳仁（9岁，毓秀小学）

家，家

大海是雨滴的家

来来往往

来来往往

躺在妈妈的怀抱

听摇篮曲

Home

Lu Jiaren (9, Yuxiu Primary School)

Home, home,

The sea is the raindrop’s home,

Coming and going,

Coming and going.

Lying in mother’s embrace,

Listening to the lullaby.

打翻了

何雨诺（9岁，毓秀小学）

打翻了，打翻了

顽皮的风孩子

打翻了垃圾桶

垃圾桶的烦恼

也全被倒掉了

Spilled Over

He Yunuo (9, Yuxiu Primary School)

Spilled over, spilled over,

The naughty wind child,

Spilled over the trash can.

All the troubles of the trash can,

Were also poured out completely.

风好大

马梦芙（9岁，毓秀小学）

风好大，风好大

空气中弥漫着

沙土的味道

小石头

打在脸上生疼

天空飞翔的小鸟

迷失了方向

水里游泳的小鱼

钻进了石缝

刚出生的小狗

躲在妈妈怀里瑟瑟发抖

我养的蚕宝宝

都吓得跑到了蚕丝被中

The Wind Is Strong

Ma Mengfu (9, Yuxiu Primary School)

The wind is strong, the wind is strong,

The air is filled with

The smell of sand and soil.

Small stones,

Sting my face when they hit.

Little birds flying in the sky,

Lost their way.

Little fish swimming in the water,

Slipped into the cracks of the stones.

A newborn puppy,

Trembling in its mother’s arms.

The silkworm babies I raise,

All scurried into the silk quilt in fear.

天黑了

贺子璎（9岁，毓秀小学）

天黑了，天黑了

天

渐渐地黑了

满天的星星

像一簇簇极小极小的火苗

在空中向我眨着眼睛

它仿佛在跟我说话

它说

明天晚上

它就不来了

我在睡梦中才知道

原来

乌云婆婆就要来做客

明晚

我就见不到星星了

It’s Getting Dark

He Ziying (9, Yuxiu Primary School)

It’s getting dark, it’s getting dark,

The sky,

Gradually turns dark.

Stars all over the sky,

Like clusters of tiny, tiny flames,

Blinking at me in the air.

It seems to be talking to me.

It says,

Tomorrow night,

It won’t come.

I only know in my sleep,

That,

Auntie Dark Cloud is coming to visit.

Tomorrow night,

I won’t see the stars anymore.

 超能力

温暖（9岁，毓秀小学）

超能力，超能力

小时候

我很贪玩

每天看电视

看着看着

就在沙发上睡着了

但是到了早上

却发现自己睡在床上

慢慢长大了

这种超能力

就消失了……

Superpower

Wen Nuan (9, Yuxiu Primary School)

Superpower, superpower,

When I was little,

I was very playful.

I watched TV every day,

And before I knew it,

Fell asleep on the sofa.

But in the morning,

I found myself sleeping in bed.

As I grew up slowly,

This superpower,

Disappeared……

For World Poetry Day 

a farrago of autobiography

in every convoluted line

          *

there never was a Balzac configuration,

I made that up

          *

all the untended graves

I once told her

didn’t matter

          *

marked for demolition

the site of my permanent records

          *

he said the salt in the street

burns his dog’s paws

          *

morning of my expulsion,

arms around the trunk of the sycamore tree

in the school parking lot

          *

crushing crabapples underfoot

I’m six and a half,

going on seven

          *

the boy who couldn’t read

never got to clap erasers

with the blue-eyed girl

          *

the wet muzzles

of the watermelon thieves

          *

the plunging sabbath

of a frozen

waterfall

          *

it would’ve been enough for me

to be Issa’s

sure-footed horse

          *

hard egg yolk on a bent spoon,

Guernica somewhere else

          *

forsythia in bloom

my defenses are down

          *

I was a blind spot

in her rearview mirror

          *

secretly wanting to join

the caterpillar procession

          *

keeping my mouth shut in a room alone

with my war-ruined cousin

          *

what are you going to do

when they find out

you can’t read

          *

sliced peaches

and the lateral lines

of the blue-tipped shark

          *

I didn’t tell the politely smiling

conductor on the Amtrak to Pittsburgh,

he resembled an Ukiyo-e print

Patrick Sweeney is a short form poet and a devotee of the public library.