shuhada’

rest now, sweet irish
as unforsaken
more whole than the rest of them
hollerin voice saintly fire
and still unbroken

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023

eccedentesiast

authenticity
gets killed by degree
behind each smile’s treachery
i wish my face wasn’t this
that you would see me

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023

mortality

stare down time’s barrel
breathless pause, the hammer click
bang! fornevermore

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023

aeternum vale

should you ever leave
all air will void from this room
all days will follow
& i won’t know what to be
this hell on earth behind thee

if i hold this space
& leave the light on for you
fain would you come home

should you not return
with hope or fire’s foreboding
into pinpricked night
would i not slingshot myself
to find you & bring you home

if i never pray
i might never say goodbye
fain never lose you

should i lose my way
ghost into pain with a smile
then remember me
bid thee well a dying sun
circle an emergent moon

if i plead the void
to swallow the void in me
fain would i be free

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023

aokigahara

deadwood on a silent shore
the crack of daylight on her face
says maybe she won’t want to die
one day

ever unsure
unable to see tomorrow
yonder rot & spore
& chokehold of black trees

the war in her brain
can anything numb the pain
thunderclouds or amnesty
they say the forecast is up to she
dumbly she hangs ‘tween root & limb
awaiting the rain

ever unsure
the marrow’s in the morrow
this is what they say
but hope is a blithe man’s game

deadwood on a silent shore
she doesn’t know how to be
defiled she hangs lightly
for another day

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023