artwork: ralph murre
Those Good Tomatoes
by
Donal Mahoney
Chicago,
South Side
Late
July and I am waiting
for
those good tomatoes
brought
to the city from farms
on
trucks with a swinging scale,
brought
to the city
and
into the alleys
by
Greeks and sons
in
late July
and
early August,
tomatoes
so red they reign
on
the sills of my mind all winter
too
perfect to eat.
~
first published in The Christian Science Monitor