ollie your halo off the ground
‘fore they see it’s slipped from your crown
do it with your winged heels
do it before the night reveals
they consider you a sidekick
you can lose their trust in one click
so stash your tacky aureole
and let them think you’re an asshole
you never wanted to be an angel
but rather a devil lewd and baneful
no one cared what your soul blooms for
‘fore shoving you onto god’s waiting womb floor
by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2021
no one cares in this world of tyrants
of sycophants and bended knee
how deep goes the well inside of me
and if my bucket is full of holes
the finger of god daubed my soul o’er pain
and it’s making me want to dissolve again
into blest relief from his violent ways
away from nephilim and the sons of earth
i swear the day will come
when y’all will forget about me
for too long have i given life
the benefit of the doubt
the ox and horse cannot eat the hay
dead baby jesus bestrews the manger
a doggerel gospel for the hateful pious
and mongrels returning to their vomit
i swear the day will come
when y’all had better forget about me
for too long have i given life
the benefit of the doubt
by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2022
what’s hidden behind the shabby black cover?
stories about a villain or a long lost lover?
scuffs and scratches like a palm’s ley lines
threatening mysteries and ominous signs
what’s hidden within the worn ivory pages?
tales of baby killings or long lived sages?
rustles and whispers foretelling the past
flaxen foundations beneath moments vast
a forbidden fruit is often the sweetest one
and the most sinful deeds often much more fun
so, how does one not yield to the temptation
to circumvent the usual pedestrian damnation?
hold your breath like an anchor and jump off that cliff
all book learning and vice yearning has a beguiling whiff
it draws out the courage needed to forge ahead and discover
so you’ll find all that’s hidden behind the shabby black cover
* Dedicated to all the souls out there waiting to be unbolted or unscrewed. May your 2022 be free-spirited and full of cool adventures!
by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2021
a big heavy cloud
that hangs out above your head
it’s a speech balloon
that’s crammed full with jumbled text
rubbish you shot from your mouth
by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2021
The bloom is on the May once more,
The chestnut buds have burst anew;
But, darling, all our springs are o’er,
‘Tis winter still for me and you.
We plucked Life’s blossoms long ago
What’s left is but December’s snow.
But winter has its joys as fair,
The gentler joys, aloof, apart;
The snow may lie upon our hair
But never, darling, in our heart.
Sweet were the springs of long ago
But sweeter still December’s snow.
Yes, long ago, and yet to me
It seems a thing of yesterday;
The shade beneath the willow tree,
The word you looked but feared to say.
Ah! when I learned to love you so
What recked we of December’s snow?
But swift the ruthless seasons sped
And swifter still they speed away.
What though they bow the dainty head
And fleck the raven hair with gray?
The boy and girl of long ago
Are laughing through the veil of snow.
by ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE (1859-1930)
Public Domain Poetry
unbolt me 