the vozhd of bedlam

i was an attendant
at a mental hospital
i had my very own key
i’d wear a white coat
i’d carry a clipboard
nick all my pens for free

’twas my solemn duty
to make them hot cocoa
and play the odd dvd
and every so often
give a cleansing clyster
maybe massage a knee

each and every sunday
became known as bath day
i’d drown every nit and flea
but every time they saw me
those violent orderlies
would catch me, take away my key

they’d put me in a straitjacket
and ply me with laxatives
they’d ruin my power spree
they gagged my threats to denazify
with special military ops
i’m putin, don’t fuck with me

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2022

GUEST POST // The Kids Must Grow Up by Cassy Single

No one should ever hear
the sky cracking open with bombs.
No one should live in fear
of what tomorrow will bring.
We think we are evolved.
We have leaders
that should serve the will
of the people.
The people say no.
All it takes is one man
to build enough power around him,
that this one man
holds a people
to ransom.
Politics is dominated
by children in a schoolyard,
small men
whose dreams shape our very lives.
The whole world must say no,
must stand together.
Peace must prevail.
Glory to Ukraine!