finger food

the sign said ‘beware of alligators’
and ‘do not feed the wildlife’
but i believe in making your own luck
so into the pit i threw my wife

only the best cuts
juicy thighs and butts

greens, vinegar, salt and pepper
the saucepan boiled, the knives sharpened
then i cracked an egg and added rice
to “din dins!” cry the alligator harkened

only the best cuts
tongue kebabs and guts

i draped the table with a festive cloth
and located grandma’s silver cutlery
added napkins, flowers, ambient light
for the alligator to dine in luxury

only the best cuts
and freedom for my nuts

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023

polemic trap

the classic problem of any discussion
those who don’t know formulate well
they sort out the saints and sinners
like a seasoned trader smells rotten fish

but those who know are tongue-tied
they chew on word salad
they are full of contradictions
and sound rather delusional

because true knowledge
doesn’t come with chain-reading
it plops onto your head
like a pigeon’s fresh droppings

and when you come to yourself
rubbing eyes while onlookers laugh
those ignorant stoned jerks
take over the world

by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2024

shaggy dog poem

lame dog
he has three legs
& a smoker’s cough
but he don’t sweat it

lame dog
chases cockeyed pigeons
& sneezes at the sun
gnarly butt-wagged tail

lame dog
he don’t lick the hand
that give the medicine
‘cos he got self-respect

but lame dog
always shakes paw
even if it makes him
plop on his butt

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023

A Word in Your Ear

Dear Reader,

Guess what? We’ve spent the last two years writing a script that clocks in at a whopping 268 pages! What is this script for, you may be wondering? It’s for a graphic novel!

Of course, a lot has happened during those 24 months. But, for a pretty obvious reason, our work was almost stalled before we even began in February 2022. The future seemed pretty uncertain and we questioned the sanity of setting out to make comics while the world was on fire.

Nevertheless, we decided to go ahead. And we persisted. It’s a good thing we did. The war, after all, is still raging and it turns out that keeping yourself busy will help you to cope with such an unimaginable reality.

By the way, we should be clear that we haven’t written the next Maus or anything—although we haven’t entirely avoided the war topic either. Despite everything, we’ve tried to craft a light, humorous and hopefully hopeful story. In short, we’ve tried to stay human.

So, there will be a lot of emotions, a little sex, drugs and heavy metal. Oh, and Jesus in a bikini. (Oops! Was that a spoiler?) Anyway, we have a feeling you’ll be intrigued already!

The drawing phase of our grand project begins in earnest next month. How long will that take? Well, not as long as the scripting phase! Fingers crossed, maybe?

We also have a very ambitious plan to release this story in two languages: English and Ukrainian. We’ll even create our own original font so we won’t have to worry about the copyright lawyers breathing down our necks.

Wish us luck won’t you? Or just watch this space. More to come!

Slava Ukraini & Terra Australis,
Your Tati & Tony!

POC Triptych 1

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024

TATI’S TRANSLATIONS // Young Ukrainian Poets: Valeriia Serhieieva

Tati Translates Valeriia Serheieva

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.

Untitled

The violin case
black and tiny
reminds of a coffin
a blue amphibious baby
with a sob on its wee lips
the full moon in a shroud trizna
honey locust
poplar fluff through
a mirrored sword
cry with yours get drunk
into the danube – out of grief
like kittens in a pail
afraid of water
summer-ripening papirovka
doneshta kandil
the bottle of bromine
shackled with a ball and chain
the antenna from Donbass transmits
wounds and dust
at the radio-and tv-golgotha
you are grey spear grass

Без назви

Чорний футлярчик
для скрипки
схожий на гріб
синє маля іхтіандрів
у вустоньках схлип
повня у савані тризна
мед саранча
пух із тополі наскрізно
в свічадо меча
плач зі своїми напийся
в дунай – із журби
як кошенята в цеберці
бояться води
з літніх сортів паперівка
донешта кандиль
ядром до литки прикутий
брому бутиль
антена з Донбасу транслює
рани і пил
на радіо- й телеголгофі
ти – сивий ковил

Original poem by VALERIIA SERHIEIEVA
Translation by TETIANA ALEKSINA

© All rights reserved 2024