Tag Archives: Writings

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

GUEST POST // Sincere Pretense by Kevin L. McDaniel

Meeting where “Your insight
is imperative,”
but participation
is optional.

“Let’s catch up
soon,” shared by
people passing
in echoing hallways.

“Love, love, love what
you did there,”
praising mediocre
work.

“Your email must have
found its way
to the abyss of
my inbox,” a common tale.

“No offense but…”
often prefaces
unsolicited
perspectives.

“Take your time,
there’s absolutely
no hurry,”
with deadlines whispering.

“Just jesting,”
comes after,
softening
sharp words.

“I’ll ponder over it,”
a placeholder,
while decisions
drift.

“Wow, you’ve really
surpassed yourself
this time,”
for varying efforts.

“Couldn’t have achieved
it without your
unique contribution,”
when roles blur.

by KEVIN L. MCDANIEL
© 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

the mute observer problem

if a deaf guy falls in the forest
& no one’s around to hear it
does he make a sound

probably

he just can’t hear himself
or maybe can’t use his words
like ouch or christ

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024