willspring

the puddle you plapped on through
were once a well e’er tranquil deep
still i spared your feelings sheer
tho’ none allowed me tend my own

were we running out of time
to cultivate me with you
or are you glad i’m gone now
to bare horizons me bestrewed

the inner guts of my skull
once a hill of bones replete
a place you called golgotha
now one through iris shone with hope

i fear we have had our time
to cultivate the me from you
must confess i’m gladness gone
to horizons tilled rain bestrewed

sometimes things don’t work out
once thought it ne’er would for me
& sometimes you have to leave
before the seed can dare to bloom

know there can be no more time
feel the inner guts of my will
gone to build me a new home
to far horizons hum bestrewed

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

changing trumpjectory

you choke down morning news on the run
with your hash brown muffin & coffee for one
you poke your bus pass at a sleepy driver
& hope you’re more dressed than lady godiva

another gulp of news & lukewarm coffee
oh shit, in your hair, is that last night’s toffee
oh shit, road hump, was that your last fresh shirt
coffee all over, down the seat & your skirt

wet wipes can only smear the whole mess around
judging looks can only add more lines to your frown
close your eyes, take a breath, try to take it easy
no one said daily commutes ought to be breezy

you tell yourself that this is all for your dream
to become top dog of the capitalist cream
another road hump, your contact lens pops out
& now that you can’t find it you begin to doubt

is fact checking reality too much for trump
because later that day on the tv news dump
it’s “people eat cats!” & “ukrainians are dead!”
& all the other stupid shit that trump said

well, even if you’d thought it was your dream job
it’s clear you cannot work for that derelict yob
you’re pleased you skipped the office to wash your hair
instead of lending your voice to that circus fair

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

TROTTERSVILLE #9

You can find TROTTERSVILLE #1 here > Ba Dum Tish!

by TONY SINGLE & TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2024

GUEST POST // Pull Up My Duvet by Harry Rogers

When nuclear potentiality
Turns into global actuality
There’s no return from our stupidity,
Nor our love affair with cupidity.
Celebrities suddenly discover
How to abuse religiosity,
Embrace prophecies as they recover
From modern fortune driven pomposity.
Priesthoods depicted gods as supermen,
Reversed by uber riche upstart godheads.
World stage creaks with their animosity,
We suffer arrogant hypocrisy.
Gooners gurn in private directors box,
War factory chimneys belch monkey pox,
Pensioners told we must be practical,
Putin threatens nuclear, tactical.
Fuck all their flags and their fucking borders,
Fuck all neo-liberal marauders,
I pull my duvet up over my head,
Today I think, perhaps, I’ll stay in bed.

by HARRY ROGERS
© All rights reserved 2024

phoenix is not at all well

if only you knew what was really going down
then you wouldn’t dismiss me as just a clown
for now all i can do is pretend i don’t care
and continue my awkward dance up the stair
i see you’re confused as a monkey banging gears
what’s with my flat-footing and my crocodile tears
what’s with the daisy pricked through my buttonhole
and why do i snort and gallop like some fool foal
well could it be that i don’t think you deserve to know
that you’re better to zip your lip and watch the show
because if you knew what was really going down
then you’d freak the hell out and honk on out of town

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024