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Weekend Edition Mar 31-Apr 02, 2012

Four by Lojeski

by POETS' BASEMENT

Where Sleep Lives

by PAUL LOJESKI

On waking, the feeling

of climbing rapidly

from deep beneath

the ground, of coming

up and up against my

will rushed upon me

till daylight flooded

the startled eye.

Then a memory

not just of dreaming

but of seeing something

other worldly clearly

rose momentarily only

to be lost quickly

and completely

in the sun’s early

morning glare.

Staring at the clock,

I was dumbfounded

by the time,

by the evidence

of hours gone

readily missing,

hours of existence

passed through

that unknown

landscape,

that churning

mystery poised

to grab the next

wandering soul,

to drag that pilgrim

without mercy

into a place

we cannot name.

Being Simplistic

by PAUL LOJESKI

The dawn sky

sends the same

message day

after day,

the color

of magic

spreading

through

the vision.

Here, it

says, here

is the reason

you are here.

A Stateless State

by PAUL LOJESKI

The safety net

in America

is called

the morgue.

What My Little Girl Sees

by PAUL LOJESKI

Killers

pissing

on corpses

piled up

on history’s

broken bone,

this forever

of fighting

bleeding

like falling

red leaves

in an endless

autumn.

Paul Lojeski was born and raised in Lakewood, Ohio and formally educated in the public schools there. He attended Oberlin College. His poetry has appeared in Barrow Street, ABZ, Right Hand Pointing and Counterpunch, and is forthcoming in Paumanok II, an anthology of Long Island poetry and photography. He lives with his wife and daughter in Port Jefferson, NY.

Paul can be reached at Plojeski@aol.com.

Editorial Note: (Please Read Closely Before Submitting)

To submit to Poets’ Basement, send an e-mail to CounterPunch’s poetry editor, Marc Beaudin at counterpunchpoetry@gmail.com with your name, the titles being submitted, and your website url or e-mail address (if you’d like this to appear with your work). Also indicate whether or not your poems have been previously published and where. For translations, include poem in original language and documentation of granted reprint/translation rights. Attach up to 5 poems and a short bio, written in 3rd person, as a single Word Document (.doc or .rtf attachments only; no .docx – use “Save As” to change docx or odt files to “.doc”). Expect a response within one month (occasionally longer during periods of heavy submissions).

Poems accepted for online publication will be considered for possible inclusion of an upcoming print anthology.

For more details, tips and suggestions, visit CrowVoiceJournal.blogspot.com and check the links on the top right. Thanks!