Tag Archives: Violence

how about love

are you the right hand of god
are you the hand left in darkness
well, never you mind, boy
be a man & do no harm
lay down your arms, boy
lay down your arms

bear your holly crown, boy
bear it with compassion for
your turn in the sun is nearly over
& soon i hope you’ll understand
that lust for legacy’s absurd
death & glory are just words

never you mind your pretty head
you could be dancing in the rain
just lay down your arms, boy
be a man & do no harm
lay down your arms

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2025

et tu, amphora?

they said that i ought to be ready
conserve water for a rainy day
so i held my amphora steady
plunged the neck into the sauna bay

they said that i ought to be ready
conserve darkness for a blacker day
so i held my amphora steady
drew into the neck every bit of grey

they said that i ought to be ready
conserve the hours for a longer day
so i held my amphora steady
fed the neck final gasps of blood spray

what’s wetter, bleaker & more drawn out
than the death rattle of julius caesar
i’m really going to savour this
no one needs to crown another old geezer

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

read the fucking manual

first time users
don’t know what they’re doing
fidgeting fingers over knobs
pressing red buttons
yanking their cranks
inserting things in slots
they can’t comprehend
the message on the screen
it says: ‘you’re too shitty for this shit’
so they take a baseball bat
and make a few essential modifications
last time users

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2022

mosh pit eye

this is our way
the only way
you have to jump with us
or stand without a clan
don’t fancy jumping?
then sing!
wail like a cat in heat
or stand alone in the street

this is our way
the insanest way
jump and wail with us
or stand alone with your gran
don’t fancy singing?
then bang!
mix sweat and blood and beat
or stand alone and miss a treat

this is our way
the violent way
jump the shark with us
or stand apart you boob man
don’t fancy sharking?
then drop dead!
lay and suck on angel teat
as we trample you with our feet

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2021