Tag Archives: Beach

i can’t get enough sox

i find it hard to imagine you knitting
without tangled fingers & rage quitting
your slim fingers were made to hold glasses of wine
your nails to clear daintily between the tines
your tongue to lick oyster juice, not frayed yarn edges
your toes to sun carefree over marble ledges
your hair to smell like a honeyed summer wind
your tummy to be desired, your skin on my skin
but when i find clumsy wool socks on my pillow
you’ve placed lovingly over cottoned billow
i’m melting with affection, all florid desire
so i slip them on, pull their li’l hems higher
we drink wine, eat oysters, make love on the beach
you rather like me in socks in july’s hot reach
don’t you

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

applied philosophy

the humanist and the quietist
walked along the beach
and had a respectful dispute
about freedom of speech

their plimsolls were leaving traces
on the golden sand
the evening sun embraced them
and everything felt grand

they had time to puff on their pipes
about once or twice
before their wives distracted them
with asking for advice

their children’s wedding was pretty soon
and all was mess and froth
on top of that, the wives couldn’t agree
on the colour of the tablecloth

an hour of scandal, some broken plates
torn shreds of hair and squeal
that moment the phrase ‘freedom of speech’
seemed absurd and unreal

the humanist and the quietist
miraculously survived
but their philosophical views
were now very much deprived

by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2024

mariana

one day the currents will turn around
the waters will carry the ocean floor
the foam will meet the impossible sky
make rainclouds in the realm of angels

vociferous sirens will hymn to gods
rake their tails o’er thorny sea stars
and soldier crabs will one day return
in battalions from know-not-where

it’s all rolling away
into much stranger days
and the deeper trenches
of mariana

splendour sand kingdoms will rise and fall
leave wet traces of their past greatness
folded into eddies of possibility
many of which ne’er before conceived

whole universes to curl into shell
that i press so gentle to your tiny palm
a nautilus distillation of dreams
a whispering promise of endless scenes

it’s all rolling away
into much stranger days
and the deeper trenches
of mariana

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

100 WORD SKITTLE // No Place for Pink on Komodo

The setting sun’s an angry red ball, though the beach is charmingly pink. A trick of the light? She cannot say.

Still, that isn’t her most pressing concern right now. Reptilians are all around, flaring nostrils and licking the hot air with their viciously forked tongues. They can sense her presence. It’s driving them crazy with lust.

She’s the Blood Queen. She gorges on the blood of men, and sometimes even wears their entrails for fun. Naturally, she’s going to attract attention from the local population.

Never mind. The odds are good. She’s the prize for whomever gets her first.

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2019

GUEST POST // A June Poem: Beneath the Pier by Writingcolorfully

We huddled
Beneath the pier
With tangled pretzel legs.
Denim shorts, the color of the coast
Speckled with sand
Like salted dough.

We huddled
Beneath the pier
White and pink seashells
Small like rabbit noses
Kissed and nipped
Our toes.

We huddled
Beneath the pier
Bright umbrella tops
Plastic pails and shovels and
Towels spread.
Chairs perched upright,
A set of pelicans
Just like the two of us.

We huddled
Beneath the pier
As the ocean whispered
And clouds passed by
In dainty shapes
Each unique like
Vintage teacups.

We huddled
Beneath the pier
To farewell the boats
And sun
And greet the crescent
With every single star
And galaxy stitch.

We huddled
Beneath the pier
As if a storm brewed
Coffee pot strong,
No cream or sugar.

We huddled
Beneath the pier
As if we were in control
Of the summer.

by WRITINGCOLORFULLY
© All rights reserved 2019