hysteria

fie, oh fie for shame
god neglects to dry the tears
of fae, fie for shame

fain would fae grow tall
with all that dotage entail
when time doth reap all
the envigored life assail
turneth youth to rufous grail

fie, oh fie for shame
that void would swallow all tears
of fae, fie we fall

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

we were glossolalian

did you know this song was written for you
for my halves both & what we heathen were
we didn’t need always hold us inside
for three to abide
each breath’s suppression of rising horror
foretold our last for to rot in our shells
still in these spaces we let love abide
while we could abide

& the treetops swayed throughout all our days
now their roots reach down into our decay
the nourishment of our fading in dirt
& the love inside
all dogmas & empty puffery spent
& the former lives we laid wreaths upon
enkindled to the last our chosen tongue
tra la la, tra la la
tra la la la la
tra la la

did you know this song was chiselled in clay
each note an impression of quelled dismay
a triptych of anthems named for the day
for three to abide
all we wanted was renewal here now
clear hearts to drum away the chill of now
for to see we three through to noonday stride
while we could abide

& the treetops swayed throughout all our days
now their roots reach down into our decay
the nourishment of our fading in dirt
& the love inside
all the blue grey craters of the moon say
there’s no man in the sky or dreams to weigh
just enkindled nullifidian tongues
tra la la, tra la la
tra la la la la
tra la la

& here in the earth we three will abide
tra la la, tra la la
tra la la la la
tra la la
treetops unearthing the love deep inside
tra la la, tra la la
tra la la la la
tra la la

tra la la, tra la la
tra la la la la
tra la la
tra la la, tra la la
tra la la la la
tra la la

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2025

dignity

my life has value
more than your godish rainbows
& your dogma trees

we love who we are
if it’s all the same to you
this ain’t your babel
the stormfront at your table
don’t you know, is all on you

know the breath in me
blow a kinder rainbow on my cheek
show my life respect

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

do the right thing

now i see that i
add not a jot of value
shall i lay me down
let them press on with their days
fruitful afore & after

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

the distance

the eyes that skew away again
from what i have known all along
betray i’ll never be one of them
a stranger to their bonny world

their monuments hold to gravitas
even when living memory fades
as i maunder these streets alone
dust sieves through my pantomime veins

a thousand years ago today
the only space i’ve left for feeling
when i realise that no one’s waiting
that their light is all yet not in all
then i’ve never felt so far away

well, it’s not always been suffering
they tap me whenever i’m of use
yet their smiles mask the expiry date
a time to back off, to know my place

& i see that their sun too has left
will not anchor me to my shadow
that their moon with its pinprick halo
will not grant even slenderest grace

a thousand years ago today
the only space allowed for feeling
when i realise nobody’s coming
that their light is all yet not for all
then i’ve never been so far away

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2025