Tag Archives: Community

quorum

long have the god botherers strung
like paper dolls around its altar
drawing us into their gravity well
where not one tittle or callous jot
shall suffer a shred of dignity
so mosaic law shall e’er hold sway

then let us choose who we are today
as they freeze themselves to all change
where heavens become another hell
of much vaunted imprecations
& love decaying in final solutions
from the pallid fists of the raptured dead

but unlike they, we can lift our heads
ne’er to be alone in this
let us feel snow on our tongues again
let the contours of sensation stay
for this is how we reclaim the day
afore the erasure of all souls

voiceless remnant, we braved the coals
where weight to the dreams once had
died in those embers to be born again
we were failed by shared geometry
but here is where we hearken shall stand
as tho’ we were always more than this

with all we shall ne’er learn to kiss
with all we shall ne’er learn to say
with all we shall ne’er learn to be
we still must remain somehow free
rooted in trust ’til the end of things
to find a more empathetic way

& the contours of sensation say
today is the day, for we be hungry
are we not allowed our dignity
for to brush away all tyranny
for to learn what it means for all to be
for to sup life now when tomorrow we’re gone

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2026

PERFECTION IN ACTION // Heavy Metal Mauna

I opened my mouth and screamed at the top of my lungs. The wind snatched up my scream, carrying it far, far away to a land where all people are mute.

As a result, I too became mute, and was so for many years. The scream had left me completely spent, so I retired to bed and existed there in a state of perfect, perpetual sleep.

Meanwhile, those people in that faraway land had all caught the scream. They took it, they shared it, and they all began to talk to one another again.

And they’d never felt more awake.

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023

Open-Source Poetry Two #2

Dear Readers,

Today we received a wonderful letter from Von Smith of Above the Noise, and we cannot resist sharing what it said with you:

From: Von Smith
Subject: You guys inspired me

Tetiana & Tony,

Thanks for reading my haikus. Your 100 word skittle was a novel idea for me.

You also triggered another idea, 50 Words or less, which I did two experiments right after the skittle.

Thought you two creates might enjoy these.

Thanks for being you,
Von Smith

Well, thanks for being you, Von Smith! Your efforts have not gone unnoticed, and we’ve enjoyed them immensely! And we should confess right here that it’s a very mutual feeling. All of you, Dear Readers, inspire us every day! You never cease to amaze us. Your creativity knows no bounds!

And this leads us to our latest installment of Open-Source Poetry. Your submissions for this so far have been, without exception, exceptional! As you can imagine, it has been an onerous task choosing what the next line should be. However, we feel that Thom of tnkerr’s line is ripe with story possibilities, so we’re going with that. Congratulations, Thom!

So, let’s keep this rolling, Dear Readers. And let us remind you of the simple rules of this game…

1) We provide the next line of the poem.
2) You write the following line.
3) You submit your line via the comments section of this very post.
4) We pick the line we like most and add it to the poem.
5) We publish every line to date in a follow-up post.
6) Steps 1-5 are repeated until we have a masterpiece!

So, what are you waiting for? Amaze us all over again with all new submissions! We cannot wait to see what comes next!

Вензель

She looks in the book like into a mirror
The face of her sister is there
She wears daffodils in her hair

Вензель_нижний

by TETIANA ALEKSINA, TONY SINGLE & THOM TNKERR
© All rights reserved 2018

Open-Source Poetry Two #1

Dear Readers,

It looks like we’re pretty desperate. For the sake of poetry, we’ll readily bear anything. The last round brought us an invasion of cockroaches. We wonder what will happen this time…

A bout of saporous lolly acne? A rain of worthless bitcoin that darkens the skies for months? Our legs dancing an endless Eskimo jig? It’ll be worse than the ten plagues of Egypt from the Old Testament!

Still, this won’t stop us from providing you, our Dear Readers, with a safe haven for your collaborative efforts. “Collaborative efforts?” we hear you say. “What collaborative efforts? And to what purpose?” Well, let us fill you in…

1) We provide the first line of a poem.
2) You write the next line.
3) You submit your line via the comments section of this very post.
4) We pick the line we like most and add it to the poem.
5) We publish the first and second lines in a follow-up post.
6) Steps 2-5 are repeated until we have a masterpiece!

See? It’s the very definition of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! So, have fun! But, please, whatever you do, don’t fling us in dat dere briar patch! We can handle pretty much anything but not rejection!

Вензель

She looks in the book like into a mirror

Вензель_нижний

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2018

Open-Source Poetry #5 (Final)

Dear Readers,

All’s well that ends well. Nope… rather, all’s well that ends on schedule. Even the best things should end in their proper time, otherwise they risk losing something of their specialness.

That’s why today we took the courage to complete our communal poem. Like two obstetrists, we cut its umbilical cord, slapped its bottom and enjoyed the first cries of this newborn poem. We even gave it a name.

Well, now it’s time to sniff a little, brush away a furtive tear, and wave goodbye our first-born. But please, don’t be too concerned. We promise to start the next round very soon. This feature’s too much fun to simply let it die!

Stay tuned!

Вензель

One Man Show

What if I said sorry for saying sorry all the time?
Or should I just give you a baby porcupine?
Alas, it will be one and the same outcome
Saying sorry results with quills in your bum

From now on I will change my approach
And make the pine and quill my coach
My steel derriere, my impenetrable armour
With rocketship flair, I will rise as a charmer

No more sorry for saying sorry all the time
Only a real man’s kneeling pantomime!

Вензель_нижний

by TETIANA ALEKSINA, TONY SINGLE, PHOENIX RISEN, ARTSYCHICK82, SODIO1 & ELLIE894
© All rights reserved 2018