Self-Portrait as Overpriced Purple Vase from Bay View Street in Camden, Maine

By Sherry Abaldo

---

I don’t even know whether to pronounce
myself vase like ace or vahz.
Should have come with care instructions.
So fragile, so much wide-mouthed
yearning to be bud vase, mason jar,
Grecian urn. I am aubergine, brackish,
cobalt. I change with the light. Where
feet should be I have a see-through moon.
Water tickles me no end. I thrill to stem
pokes, stray sepals, fallen petals
bright as stars against my midnight belly.
I was almost a bell. I was almost
made of iron. I was almost useful, but
I had to be so precious. Put away
for decades. Maine shed, LA closet. Now
I’m out and shining. Touch my cool assumed
perfection. Careful. Feed me flowers.

---

---

Sherry Abaldo lives with her husband in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, ONE ART (Top 10 Read July 2024), Rattle, The Eunoia Review, Down East Magazine, and on The History Channel and PBS among other outlets. Her poems are forthcoming in Sequestrum, The Mackinaw, and elsewhere. As a researcher, her latest nonfiction contribution is due from HarperCollins in 2025. More at sherryabaldo.com.

---

• 04/10 / Poetry Reading and Conversation with visiting poet-in-residence Chloe Martinez and local poet Ximena Gómez / The BBar at The Betsy-South Beach, Miami Beach, FL / Live and Live-Streamed on Instagram Live/Facebook Live at @swwimmiami / 7-8:30 pm EST / Free

• Are you looking for editorial feedback? SWWIM’s editors offer commentary on 3-6 pages of poetry. Submit here!

• SWWIM Every Day is now accepting poetry translations for publication consideration. Please see swwim.org/submit for the full guidelines.

• Are you a SWWIMmer with literary news to share (publication/feature/award/book/book review)? We’d love to shout out your accomplishments in our Weekly Spotlight! Please email swwimmiami@gmail.com with a link to your news. (No DMs on any social media platforms, please.)

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, and Bluesky for more updates—and visit our website to see past, present, and future readings & events.

---

**We do our best to preserve the integrity of each poem; however, due to programming limitations, some poems may read differently on a mobile phone and in certain browsers. For best viewing, use Chrome on a desktop/laptop.