February 2, 2009

Late Winter Seed Catalog

A photo of melons
cut open, three sliced moons
aslant on the table, glisten.
Their orange and pink and pale lemon
flesh glows, edged by the light green
and dark green rind. I taste
the sweetness in my mind:
strawberries with a hint
of cucumber, or peaches
mixed with lime-the sweet at first
overpowering the bitter
that lingers long after. The flesh
nests in the rind, ripe, slightly
grainy, resisting the teeth
at first, then yielding, just as snow
heaped on the garden beds now
resists the pressure of boots
then gives as we fall through.

From We Tempt Our Luck, forthcoming from Astounding Beauty Ruffian Press.

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