he gave me a shabby old pouch
filled up with pomegranate seeds
& i wondered what this could mean
how fertile he wished me to be
he showed how many seeds i got
as much as happy days are left
& i swore we’d marry right there
no priest nor church ‘neath nude sun’s haze
he squeezed a seed ‘tween two fingers
& the juice sprinkled his palm red
like virginity on crisp sheets
i did not even hesitate
by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024
don’t cry
we’ve a full life, don’t we
with full bellies
& you are here by my side
with love aplenty to fill our sail
own nothing & be happy
is what they’re bound to say
yet we’re happy anyway
are we not
you are mine & i am yours
too many fish in this world
are fighting to be upstream
near the lighthouse seen
no such thing as water in nets
only good days & some regrets
so, let’s be mindful, love
time is a loose spool
& the river winds on
by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2025
is this all you are
a photo cast in my wake
death by memories
my sail full of scuppered pleas
another ship lost at sea
by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024
i am not your project
not in need of saving
to be restored from drafts
nor be redone from scratch
not a work in progress
nor a fixer-upper
not in your portfolio
nor part of your cv
so kindly fuck right off
you smug, self-righteous toff
look for another dunce
to suffer your ‘guidance’
by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024
Hail and farewell to those who fought and died,
Not laughingly adventurous, nor pale
With idiot hatred, nor to fill the tale
Of racial selfishness and patriot pride,
But merely that their own souls rose and cried
Alarum when they heard the sudden wail
Of stricken freedom and along the gale
Saw her eternal banner quivering wide.
Farewell, high-hearted friends, for God is dead
If such as you can die and fare not well
If when you fall your gallant spirit fail.
You are with us still, and can we be adread
Though hell gape, bloody-fanged and horrible?
Glory and hope of us who love you, Hail!
by JOHN LE GAY BRERETON (1871-1933)
Public Domain Poetry
unbolt me 