Litany
Because the sun bloodied
by the quilt of summer smog.
Because falling down the steps
all the way to sand.
Because my belt with the silver buckle
lost in the abandoned well.
Because the heart of my pet rooster
in a bowl of chicken soup.
Because my grandmother’s ring
disappearing beneath the waves.
Because coming home to an empty house.
Because my mother forgot who I was.
Because the Perseids
plunging through the dark.
About the Author: Ruth Bavetta’s poems have appeared in North American Review, Nimrod, Rattle, Slant, Atlanta Review, Tar River Poetry and many other journals and anthologies. Her published books are Fugitive Pigments, What’s Left Over, Embers on the Stairs, Selected Poems, and Flour, Water, Salt. She likes the light on November afternoons, the music of Stravinsky, the smell of the ocean. She hates pretense, prejudice, and sauerkraut.
Image Credit: Chase Dimock “Pismo Sunset” (2020)
As It Ought To Be 