by Jared Beloff Natasha Polyakova Cleopatra kept her lovers waiting as Caesar died. This afternoon, I spotted a black bird sitting on a fence, his larger mate waiting a space away. I wanted to know their names, identify the rituals that hold them in place. Your eyes were already scanning the faces of mountains breaking the sky beyond them. We will sleep separately tonight, enjoy the sprawl, cool sheets. The birds in the palms outside mate without symmetry, pursuing, pursued u