waved goodbye to my sneakers on the shore.
shoulders draped in cloth like a pietà.
that afternoon the water was augustgold,
cradled cupped & rippling in the hands of tellus mater.
fish flashing green and lemon between pantheons,
haloed around my thighs.
pronouncing me benedetta.
sink my head underwater
& i can almost hear the padre nostro.
standing sends my shirt hanging rainy down my chest,
and giulia laughs and laughs. che matta.
wet hair dripping mosaics.
we bike home barefoot, feet arched over the pedals,
leaving a lakewater rubicon in our wake.
my toes part the breeze like summersilk.
& sunlight fish swim by my head
as divinity sends us home.
“on the last day of summer i forgot my bathing suit” was awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2022 Scholastic Arts & Writing Competition and a Gold Key in the 2023 Scholastic Arts & Writing Competition.
Sophia Fratta 