Sweeping the Beach
(for Karen)
by PAUL LOJESKI
The island man extended
the broom out and then
drew it in, piling up last
night’s seaweed on
the white sand beach.
He stopped and gazed
at the calm, blue-green
water. A warm, morning
breeze caressed him.
He took a deep breath
and began again to sweep
out and in smoothly,
at ease with effort
like a Tai Chi Master.
Another little mound
of ocean grass appeared
and he moved a few
steps down the beach.
It was so quiet, so still.
Just the slight ripple
sliding up the sand
the only sound. He
looked out once more
and waited for the soft
wind to surround him
as he’d done every
morning for ten years,
while the world crashed on.
He was the richest man
she’d ever seen.
What They Hear
by PAUL LOJESKI
The old listen to a different music,
music that hangs like fog over
a busy highway, shrouding every-
thing in gray mist—that muffled
sound they drift into, resting in its
quiet aspect, in its slow, cool embrace.
Hardware
by PAUL LOJESKI
Standing in front of plumbing
supplies on the slatted
wood floor that creaked
when walked on, I thought,
How obvious death has become.
I chose two half-inch washers,
frustrated by the old, upstairs
shower constantly in need
of repair. I sighed and headed
slowly to check out, listening
to the wood complain at every
heavy step, considering
whether or not to ask
the woman at the register
her opinion on the matter of our
dying but she had “bad day’
etched into her disappointed
face, so I let it go. I let it go.
Paul Lojeski’s poetry has appeared in journals and online, including at Counterpunch.
He’s also the author of the satiric novel, The Reverend Jimmy Pup. He lives with his wife and daughter in Port Jefferson, NY.
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