fire, water & trumpet spiders

rains fell three days & three nights
like vertical static on a screen
obscuring the grandeur of creation
in a two-bit nature documentary

& suddenly the sun jumped in
like popcorn prancing in a pan
then orange he rose from the dead
a cameo for more residuals

applause thundered two days & nights
spotlights lanced the morose sky
sweeping like kaiju porcupine quills
in arcs of foreboding adoration

& suddenly a bollocking trumpet
as he ascended & then returned
in armani white on a horse to fight
for the christian fascist tech bro cause

coins clinked for one day & that night
ledger filled with sleight of crypto handwriting
vengeful, he smote everything in sight
& stomped with feet burnished bronze

& suddenly there was famine for all
worth about thirty pieces or less
of dignity bought & sold & told
to shut up & worship the trumpian fold

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2025

body rhymes

she kisses me for inspiration
but is it meant for me or her
does my nose provoke the muse
to gift more undying love sonnets

but sometimes a nose ain’t enough
you also need an actual brain
but one cannot mack on a brain
which poses quite the dilemma

should i chainsaw open my skull
to give her more direct access
but then i’d lose my brain on a stroll
and that ain’t no good for her or me

so now i wear a dustbin lid
hinged to open over my brain
with my nose still exposed beneath
the opportunities are endless!

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

night in circadia

the city nestles into evening
the city curls & the city shrinks
it hides in its shell like a snail
folds in on itself like wilting kale
it fills with the headlights of glow worms
between the sleepy power line sway
the treacherous mesh of branch & leaves
& mortar & brick & wire weaves
the phantom moons & ghostly sounds
entangle in fountain & rusted pipe
the owl looks on from its lofty perch
as echoes through streets resume their search
see how the signs change their meaning
to string together new lullabies
& the wind sighs a song in the spaces
between the lost dreams of lost places

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

vanity & cat flaps (life hack furballs)

it’s called youtube
& i alone understand that
you use it to put videos on
mostly of the kitty variety

but this here is called mytube
& on it i’ll do whatever i please
i’ll use it to post shower videos
look at me getting into a lather!

& now here are my bits
scrubbed all nice & clean
can you see how they sparkle
more than the glint of a kitty’s brown eye

& now here are my hairy bits
combed all nice & neat
can you see how silky they are
more than a kitty’s licked ball sack

& now here are all of the bits
tucked away all nice & tidy
can you see how they nestle
more than a kitty in big ass cleavage

& now let’s look & see
which videos ring the most bells
& get the coveted thumbs up
down to the lowest common denominator

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

king for a day

they’ve erected a statue
right on the main square
where the gutters swill red
it must all go somewhere

more than a grand opening
there the ribbon is cut
the people jockey to see
a democracy forgot

note his moment of glory
how blindly the crowd loves
none mention the bodies
a truth that secretly rubs

& yet in a week or so
the leavings will remain
of know-nothing pigeons that
care not for fascist gain

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024