Rituals

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 until they catch and clatter, twirling in the freefall of a tender clutch. At the end, did the asp struggle in her hands, or wait, knowing the satisfaction of its sting?

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Jared Beloff is a teacher and poet who lives in Queens, NY with his wife and two daughters. You can find his work in Contrary Magazine, Rise Up Review, Barren Magazine, Bending Genres, The Shore and elsewhere. He is the editor of the Daily Drunk Magazine’s anthology of Marvel-inspired poetry, Marvelous Verses. His work was nominated for Best of the Net 2021. You can find him online at www.jaredbeloff.com. Follow him on twitter @read_instead.