cripple at beautiful gate

well, i went & trod the great south road
when you told me not to go
i meandered in the crayon fields
but that child died long ago
the colours weren’t anywhere to look
yeah, far as flies the crow
except the black that bled from these stumps
that carried me to & fro

well, life is such a disappointment
where did the years all go
i gambolled in the hambone hills
but lust is death don’t you know
fantasy splayed by heat & look
yeah, pecked on by the crow
i eat the sickly gangrene stumps
that carried me to & fro

well, no matter where i lay my head
i’m always fear on the go
i’ll never be too innocent, yeah
gehenna’s bloody flow
she’s so damn hot, she makes me look
yeah, spit on by the crow
burn bright you cursed charcoal stumps
that carried me to & fro

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2008

yet it hurts

clown clouds
all kites unfurled
jubilance & church bells
but then she hied for good that day
or ill

fain i’d be okay
could i smile the pain away
left by my bride fae

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2026

a faraway shore

do you think of me
walking past that ferris wheel
in the desert dark
long after the meadowlark
has left for songs yonder rue

do you think of me
standing on that worn jetty
a faraway face
framed within lost time & space
on abstracted rueful sands

do you think of me
hearing the song of the sea
near that ferris wheel
in a desert shell to heal
from rue the day we parted

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

unharbour

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

condimentality

this is the day that divided the earth
mustard or ketchup on your hot dog?
the choice of condiment was paramount
one side wore yellow, the other side red
tension was rising like fermented dough
pretty soon it got personal, with pickles too
insults were slung with side order of onions
and a tower of babel of used paper towels
then out came the knives and other utensils
the salt and pepper shakers, and glutamate
with preservative smeared over more conflict
kept it going way past the point of sanity
this is the day that divided the earth
when the first vegan was immaculately conceived

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024