make them fear
i hear you say
but can we not
just let them be
make them hear
everything you say
but can we just let
them pass on by
bring them near
i hear you say
but i’d rather
keep to myself
with a sneer
bring them near
make them hear
make them fear
by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2025
Lay down, lay down, antlers fallen from
the crown. A king falls, a doe dies, and wise
the mouse who makes his house in the moss!
O the cost of this solitary life —
paid out in blood and mountaintops, the coin
of misunderstandings. The warbler
cannot understand the mockingbird’s
almost-speech. I’m tired. I’m talking in code.
The deer’s wild heart beats its mighty last.
This too shall pass. The vultures crack the bones.
by WHITECATGROVE
© All rights reserved 2025
the classic problem of any discussion
those who don’t know formulate well
they sort out the saints and sinners
like a seasoned trader smells rotten fish
but those who know are tongue-tied
they chew on word salad
they are full of contradictions
and sound rather delusional
because true knowledge
doesn’t come with chain-reading
it plops onto your head
like a pigeon’s fresh droppings
and when you come to yourself
rubbing eyes while onlookers laugh
those ignorant stoned jerks
take over the world
by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2024
Meeting where “Your insight
is imperative,”
but participation
is optional.
“Let’s catch up
soon,” shared by
people passing
in echoing hallways.
“Love, love, love what
you did there,”
praising mediocre
work.
“Your email must have
found its way
to the abyss of
my inbox,” a common tale.
“No offense but…”
often prefaces
unsolicited
perspectives.
“Take your time,
there’s absolutely
no hurry,”
with deadlines whispering.
“Just jesting,”
comes after,
softening
sharp words.
“I’ll ponder over it,”
a placeholder,
while decisions
drift.
“Wow, you’ve really
surpassed yourself
this time,”
for varying efforts.
“Couldn’t have achieved
it without your
unique contribution,”
when roles blur.
by KEVIN L. MCDANIEL
© All rights reserved 2024
We met when we were strangers
On platforms changing trains
Time would never be the same
No season spoke the dangers,
Our faces wore expressions
Of kindred spirit found
Our voices made no sound
No doubts and no transgressions,
We stood aside the crossroad
And looked along each way
Hoping for another day
To break the secret code,
We met when we were strangers
On platforms changing trains
But I could feel the hurt and reins
Beneath my feet the dangers,
We met when we were strangers
But I knew even then
That I was nothing more
Than a small
Provincial
Station.
by CHRIS NELSON
© All rights reserved 2023
unbolt me 