Tag Archives: Tetiana Aleksina

eyes in the storm

my favourite gift is a closed one
that moment where nothing is known
that calm before an unwrapping storm
in anticipation of what’s to come

my favourite book is a closed one
that moment where nothing happens
that calm before a reading storm
in anticipation of what’s to come

my favourite lips are closed ones
that moment where nothing is said
that calm before a kissing storm
in anticipation of what’s to come

my favourite heart is an open one
so tell me true, are you ready for war
many shall ride the carousel with me
but few shall choose to stand with me

my favourite casket is a closed one
that moment where nothing remains
that calm after the final storm of
memories of all that’s come & gone

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

from silence we rose

they say there will be a golden age
when the lion lays down with the lamb
& i say there will be a golden age
when the lamb goes for the lion’s jugular

we cannot sup safely with the fascists
without them exacting their pound of flesh
there’s no more time for demure silence
when they’re raising goblets full of our own blood

when free thinkers are chained to dogma
& women are made the property of man
they’ll poke their noses into every bedroom
declare that our love violates god’s will

we cannot lay down & be fucked like this
we lambs must sharpen our teeth for the fight
stub their gaping throats with righteous ire
with the shepherd’s crook we took back from fools

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

fearocity

you can’t seriously believe
that the rabble will become tamer
if you let them rattle the bones
paint their faces with bird droppings
and kill one another out of fear

aren’t we all demons in sunlight
perched on the corpses of angels
aren’t we all angels in shadow
presiding over flesh and bone

you can’t seriously believe
that billionaires are ethical
or in their dreams of conquering mars
when the rabble are crushed by mad cars
and clip one another out of fear

aren’t we all demons in sunlight
perched on the corpses of angels
aren’t we all angels in shadow
feasting on feather, flesh and bone

you can’t seriously believe
that they seriously believe
they’re the villains of their stories
in such apocalyptic dreams
fighting high and low out of fear

aren’t we all demons in sunlight
perched on the corpses of angels
aren’t we all angels in shadow
pricking with pitchforks feather and bone

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

detached

let’s walk to one side
under cover of quiet
observe how they go

why do they hurry
will they be on time
would that give them peace

anxiety sponges all
bloated beyond reason
so ready to explode

let’s take careful steps
under cover of quiet
mustn’t let them splash us

we are the hidden
happy to be nowhere
ghosting for sanity

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

TATI’S TRANSLATIONS // Young Ukrainian Poets: Darii Lazhnevskyi

Literary classics aren’t always created by the greying elder statesmen and women of the writing world. You know the ones. They’re all wise and wrinkly and impassive, and woe betide the scholar who dares mount an honest critique of their bodies of work.

You see, literary classics are also written by upstart youngsters. These youngsters are full of vitality and creativity. They live fully awake and fully aware during these very difficult times. Nothing escapes their notice and they’re unafraid to share what they really think. They walk among us right now, breathing, smiling and crying, loving and hating, experiencing the full range of their humanity without apology.

This series presents names that you won’t find in textbooks or on Wikipedia, but these are the very youngsters who are creating modern Ukrainian literature right now. Trust us, you will want to check them out because it’s only a matter of time before they become household names. When we go back to these writers in two hundred years, we have no doubt that they’ll be mentioned in the same breath as luminaries such as Taras Shevchenko and Lesya Ukrainka.

the last letter to K

dear friend,
i miss
your dreams come no more
to me in reality.

if you knew
how many fates were twisted,
smoked away, half-eaten by dogs
how many letters gather dust in mailboxes
concolourous with dried blood
and how many vows left behind only poetries
somewhere in the bowels of my telegram.

i am much the same as usual
outside the window are the crooked teeth of apartments
with leftovers of the staled unsaid
just got more quiet
it nestles on my knees, purrs,
eats away all my hunger
and i feel the thirst for life no more.

dear friend,
god turns off the light
sleep, i will carry your love protest
i will carry your hate
i will carry your sexual desire
depart with ease
let your fear continue hereafter
suffocate in oblivion.

останній лист до К

милий друже,
я сумую
твої сни уже більше не проходять
до мене на яву.

знав би ти
скільки доль скручено,
скурено, виїдено собаками
скільки листів запилюжені у скринях
кольору засохлої крові
і від скількох клятв залишились лиш вірші
десь у надрах мого телеграму.

у мене ж усе так само
за вікном нерівні зуби квартир
із недоїдками закипілої недосказаності
лише от більше спокою
він моститься у мене на колінах, муркотить,
з’їдає мій весь голод
і я уже не відчуваю спрагу до життя.

любий друже,
бог вимикає світло
засинай, я берегтиму твій протест любові
я берегтиму твою ненависть
я берегтиму твоє сексуальне бажання
помирай спокійно
нехай твій страх і надалі
задихається у забутті.

Original poem by DARII LAZHNEVSKYI
Translation by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2024