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

PERFECTION IN ACTION // Don’t Give a Shit

Today I dreamt that I’d crapped my pants off. Yes, pants full of warm, steamy poo down around my ankles. The kind of poo that comes out of you like toothpaste from a tube.

Being an optimist, I googled what good things this could mean. Scrolling through dozens of sites revealed meanings from ‘Problems with money should be anticipated’ to ‘Your financial status will significantly improve in the near future’.

Naturally, none of these happened. I’m a performing circus chimp with clown pants. I don’t need money, just a nice big banana to provide that extra roughage my diet needs.

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023

dream caused by the fate of a plate spinning above a selection of stale pistachio baklava with a wasp buzzing around that i told sigmund freud about during our second session

just look at this zeppelin in the sky
it bears the burden of all my dreams
of clouds made from berries and cream
and coffins of cherries jubilee

it wobbles like a huge cosmic jelly
its five points thrumming with juicy flair
sugar patina wickers soft underbelly
its eyes cry diamond daggers for miles

thick nipples drip mint liquor and ganache
its genitals puffed up like salted pastry
the masterpiece of a mad confectioner
until someone pops it like yesterday’s gum!

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023

somnus (rem)

eyes taped to the sky
spin around a world of rue
the silence that hems

Text by TONY SINGLE
Image by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2022

somnus (sws)

gaslit & ghosted
then left to grey abandon
why were you not told

Text by TONY SINGLE
Image by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2022