Issue #20 (2011) PDF - myweb - Long Island University

Lewis Warsh
ELEVEN O’CLOCK NEWS
1
Deluded thoughts arise
from mental afflictions.
It could be that I said something
once and half-meant it, or not.
It could be that I washed my hands of it,
in the literal sense,
but that the smell still lingered
on the tips of my fingers,
like mint.
2
As the sky turns red and pink the guys on
surfboards paddle out to the horizon
and I can see them now, the guys on surfboards
paddling out to the horizon as the sun goes down
one more time
it was like the sun was going down over the ocean
and the guys on surfboards were floating in the wake
I can see them now the guys on surfboards paddling
out to the horizon
one more time
3
Get into an elevator and everyone is breathless
in the proximity of a stranger‘s body, the smell of
perfume or sweat.
A rainy afternon when I think to myself: ―I don‘t
have to go anywhere.‖
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