Ben Bartu

As if Because, Goulash

once a lifetime,
    i think, maybe it’s alright.

to place the chicken stock aside, take the vegetable stock down from the shelves.

                quarter the yellow onion; dice the quarters.

fetch the tomatoes that have only known this cruelest of summers from the garden.

cruelest so far. fetch

     the can of kirkland tomato paste. cut the carrots.

                                    mince the garlic. boil the tomatoes.     

                                                                 boil the potatoes.

                             question which herbs to use & the hot air comes from on high.

                        study the slats of light that come from the other side of the window in which i                                            find what’s left of your reflection.

            i’m almost a man today.

                        not almost. it’s a difference. parsley, oregano.

smoked paprika we brought home
    from your home.

                                                            what else to say? people keep being hungry.

                                                                                      you keep being gone.

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Benjamin Bartu is a high school teacher, poet & writer. He is the winner of the Blood Orange Review’s inaugural poetry contest. His writing has appeared in The Adroit Journal, The Tahoma Literary Review, Tilde & elsewhere. An Associate Editor at Palette Poetry, he can be found on twitter @alampnamedben.