hagakure

the fox with the sword
he never uses his words
like a samurai
he prefers meditation
over a cherry petal

in silence he feels
a longing for the highlands
there’s no other goal
fox life is the only way
darting through the foggy fens

fleet of foot & tail
the gods can barely spot him
or trace his bearing

the fox looks yonder
at thunder on the mountain
the gods are angry
or maybe they are happy
the cherry petal flutters

ascension begins
climbing over nook & rock
fox ‘neath the lit skies
crystal droplets pelting down
the sword’s unblemished blade edge

fleet of foot & tail
the gods can fairly ponder
his vulpine essence

the fox at the peak
sees the gods in their true form
bow to each other
& then they sit side by side
for endless meditation

so he makes his choice
tender the fox lays his sword
down for the last time
soars into the lawless sky
turning into a petal

fleet of foot & tail
the gods can only look on
in silent envy

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

bridelope

i lay on the grass & feel how
the flowers push up through my spine
threading me to the divine
the will of modor earth

the smell of honey & i hear how
bees whir above my navel
spreading nature’s table
the pollen will of modor earth

a summer of rain & i smell how
petrichor infuses soil & eaves
wedding with fall’s orange leaves
the solemn will of modor earth

the first snow & i see how
my bridal outfit turns to white
shedding trees stand so quiet
in the mollen will of modor earth

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

a faraway shore

do you think of me
walking past that ferris wheel
in the desert dark
long after the meadowlark
has left for songs yonder rue

do you think of me
standing on that worn jetty
a faraway face
framed within lost time & space
on abstracted rueful sands

do you think of me
hearing the song of the sea
near that ferris wheel
in a desert shell to heal
from rue the day we parted

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

smoking kills

today our god smoked a lot
just look at those heavy clouds
then he took a massive piss
for nine hundred sixty hours

noah chopped huge planks of wood
did it with his chopping fist
slapped together a wee boat
before the waters could rise

the re’em poked its nose inside
but noah shooed it away
It was crowded & stuffy
re’ems were bigger than blue whales

upset, the re’em craned its neck
& pricked god’s arse with its horn
upset, god smote the re’em back
right up its almighty crack

then the firmament crackled
& the waters subsided
like gurgling down a drain hole
along with the re’em’s remains

noah’s wee boat went aground
atop a big arse mountain
creatures piled out & ran off
scattering every which way

noah then got himself drunk
pitched a tent, slept in the buff
put one son in a tizzy
the others covered his bits

happily ever after
multiply & fill the earth
venerate or freaking else
these our smoking god decreed

as a sign of his good grace
covenant with man & beast
a rainbow was set in clouds
then the gays came & stole it

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

fumes & booms

don’t light a cigarette
in a house of oily rags
if you do, be ready to
extinguish your reeky buns
‘cos methane doesn’t come
only from cross volcanoes
& farting has never been
an insured accident
so, eat way less baked beans
if you really want to live
or better, just stop smoking
go on a jet ski trip instead

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024