James Crews: Tomatoes

When I bite into the bruise-

        colored flesh of this heirloom tomato

        known as a Cherokee Purple,

        I’m transported back to the dirt road

        that ran along the Meramec River

        where my father pulled over

        at the farm stand, then stepped out

        of the truck, brushed for a moment

        in gravel dust suspended in the sun.

        He came back grinning, gripping 

        a bag of homegrown Beefsteaks so fat

        they were already bursting their juices

        through the brown paper, running 

        down his long-gone hands, which I am

        reaching out to touch again before

        he turns the key in the ignition, 

        begging him not to go, not just yet, 

        as I salt the next slice.

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Copyright 2021 James Crews.

James Crews’s books include Blue Bird (Green Writers Press, 2020). He teaches at SUNY-Albany and leads Mindfulness & Writing workshops across the country.