that is the place
where everything starts
fog in the trees
in the nettled heart
a tiny silhouette
a pouch on a stick
on demeter’s eve
on the move real quick
smoking pipe stuffed
with tobacco balm
a rite of refocus
or deleterious harm
fragile & daring
i follow my dream
between the wolf’s howl
& the night bird’s keen
that is the place
that i’ll journey to
for to make our peace
i’ll be waiting for you
by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2025
They say: Be afraid. I regard the nettles
with their hard sting. The toothed hawthorn. Brambles
that grab your pantleg and refuse to let go.
Songbirds strafe the mighty hawk, drive him
branch to branch, then out of the sky. A swan
flexes angel wings and breaks a man’s arm.
A pebble does not relent, nor a splinter.
Thorns of a white rose can topple a king.
They say: Be afraid but the maddened doe
lashes with sharp hooves and the hunter goes
hungry. A cavalry of geese arrives
and no nest will be raided by serpents.
by WHITECATGROVE
© All rights reserved 2025
unbolt me 