Alec Hershman lives in St. Louis where he teaches literature and psychology to fashion and interior design students. He has received awards from the Kimmel-Harding-Nelson Center for the Arts, The Jentel Foundation, The St. Louis Regional Arts Commission, and The Institute for Sustainable Living, Art, and Natural Design. You can find out more at alechershmanpoetry.com.
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The tongue got wet with leisure,
broke with use. There was a long God,
a long haul of beads for which my finger brought
the needle with the patience of the thread—
cerise and singular—bright
dissonance of cash.
O shuttering,
the desert shadow, pre-O, the tongue
has habits, had praise:
famous poets, like doves,
nestled into larger doves. And claimed money
was gauche. For each, the lips’ firm intervention
was difficult to synchronize. I felt the chill of fools.
And cooed. But followed: the red of my own thoughts.
Like loyalty, my shoulders rose to touch.