edges first

every light restored
every line repaired
the names are piling up
none will be forgotten

from ukraine to minnesota
we the people rising up
be the leftover puzzle piece
fascists don’t know what to do with

i guarantee your safety
said the spider to the fly
but as more rockets fill the sky
the more each bullet tells the lie

no one has ever owed us heaven
but we’ve the right to take home back
be the leftover puzzle piece
fascists don’t know what to do with

voters dying in minnesota
another grim winter in ukraine
more genocide for real estate
to sate the bloodlust of billionaires

but every light will be restored
& every home will be defended
be the leftover puzzle piece
fascists don’t know what to do with

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2026

clusterfuck summit

tati says it’s time to replace
‘spanish shame’ with ‘american shame’
or, more accurately, ‘maga’—
‘moscow agent grifting america’

are you happy, fat elephants
rolling out the red carpet
for this political circus
this baked alaska of fascism

tony says it’s time to get real
the butchers of bucha want more
putin-khulyo & thin-skin trump
a shit lord stroll between the bodies

ahem, pechenegs & polovtsy
you say ukraine’s a fake country
lenin invented it, so—
‘we will kill & trade land, a peace deal’

ukraine’s not perfect, we won’t argue
but let us exist on our own
without your pallid botox cheeks
& edema legs, you fucking cowboys

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2025

cracked stasis (1,183 days)

i didn’t get rid
of that cracked cup
because i know
one day from the tap
will drip a quantum of poison
& said cup will be handy

let me not drift in convenience
let me not fall asleep
while concrete is melting
& the stylus is charging

i didn’t get rid
of that cracked hope
because i know
one day from the news
will beam a quantum of light
& said hope will be handy

let me not sink in clamour
let me not fall asleep
while trust is hardening
& a stylus is charging

by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2025

nezlamnist

yellow grain waving no surrender
in the onslaught of another storm
we will bend again, again & again
but never level to the ground

why should we rest in pieces
we demand to live in peace
we are not asking
the bear must turn & leave

we are not afraid
you try to raze us down
still we dare to stand
it’s you who are afraid now

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2025

GUEST POST // one flower left by Cassy Single

bombs fly & sirens sound
they think they scare us
buildings fall & fires burn
they think they’ve beaten us

propaganda, lies spread
like a game of whispers
they think they speak truth
no

their bombs are nothing
for every building they destroy
we build two more
the real truth

no matter what they try to take
we will never surrender our spirit
we will stand together
no matter what

as long as one flower remains
ukraine will live on

by CASSY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023