My true friends must be lovers
of tomatoes and onions.
They relish the bare mellow redness,
paired with the thrill of a hot bite.
All unfamiliar with the rush
of sun-warm fruit straight from the vine,
more liquid and coreless than Eve's apple,
are but mute strangers to me.
No mustard? No horseradish?
Walk on by; do not make a pass.
Celibacy of the senses
is an incompatible condition.
I cannot trifle with those
who refuse to taste life.
willow, 2010
to join Magpie Tales creative writing click HERE
I am with you on making a pass on the mustard but I do love a bit of basil with my tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteYour poem is both eloquent and witty.
Thanks, Acorn, actually I am advising the person who doesn't like mustard and horseradish not to make a pass at me!
ReplyDeleteha. quite the dstinction you draw there willow, but i lke those with a taste for life as well...well played magpie....
ReplyDeleteGlad to see that on this front, too, we qualify as "true friends". No culinary puritanism here. Me likes me summer dishes squishy and sensual, spicy and loud.
ReplyDeleteOh, how I agree with you. Yes, yes.
ReplyDeleteBisou, Cro.
I am with you, but you'd have to show me how to have mustard and horseradish with tomatoes! :-)
ReplyDeleteI love toasted slices of French baguette, thick slices of sun ripened tomatoes, both cut into cubes, good extra vergine olive oil, a bit of salt, then mixed with your hands to make sure that the juices of the tomatoes mingle well with the bread. A few dashes of vinegar, torn basil leaves, feta cheese or fresh mozzarella are possibilities, but they are luxuries I can live without if the tomatoes live up to the promise of their "bare mellow redness".
A good American BLT sandwich is a strong contender for second place. Well, may well be a tie!
Haaaa! "Celibacy of the senses" is classic. Wonderful, Willow! I'll be your close friend any time--I love tomatoes and onions...and lots of other fine things. Delightful.
ReplyDeleteSo many word I loved in your post! Planting words watching what grows. Thank you Willow!
ReplyDeleteYes, to tomatoes and onions -- especially sweet organic Vidalias,
ReplyDeleteheirloom Brandywine tomatoes, together with dill/basil/French sorrel -- hold the mustard and sprinkle on some olive oil. -- barbara
Yes, to tomatoes and onions -- especially sweet organic Vidalias,
ReplyDeleteheirloom Brandywine tomatoes, together with dill/basil/French sorrel -- hold the mustard and sprinkle on some olive oil. -- barbara
You are welcome at our table any time, Willow. We are debauchees when it come to garlic and onions! Hot and spicy? Bring it on!
ReplyDeleteI stand with Merisi on the perfect way to enjoy tomatoes however.
wonderfully said
ReplyDeletebeautiful words
and I agree whole heartedly
Heh, heh! When the local tomatoes ripen and come on the local market, I don't bother with slicing and such; I eat 'em like you'd eat an apple or a peach. Ah, paradise!
ReplyDeleteRoy, that's exactly the image of biting into a whole tomato I had in mind, when I wrote the second stanza!
ReplyDeleteMerisi, you're making my stomach play music. It's only 9:00 am here and I want lunch!
ReplyDeleteGosh, "condition" was spelled weird! Why didn't somebody tell me? That's what you get for posting early without contacts!
ReplyDeleteNo room for 'celibacy of the senses' when it comes to fully appreciating life. I like that.
ReplyDeleteYour concluding line is etched on my heart!
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely cool, sensual poem..........
reminds me of W C Williams "This is just to say"
I live for homegrown tomatoes! Nothing is better in July than a tomato sandwhich. At the 1930's Dinner in Monroeville last Friday, there was a huge platter of the most beautiful heirloom deep red and golden tomatoes! Food for the Southern gods!
ReplyDeleteAnd when winter is upon us...tomato basil soups are number one on my menu!
***Take one large home grown tomato, remove top slice, score about 1/2 inch deep in criss cross style, sprinkle with fresh chopped basil, a little salt and pepper, and fresh grated parmesan cheese...broil until the cheese melts slightly ...or leave off cheese!
Great with just about any entree or by itself at lunch!
I think I'll go dive into the sun-ripened fruit barrel this AM for breaky, nothing like a cappachino and fresh veggies on the porch swing...and maybe some 'cucumber sandwiches sliced ever so thin'...Howard's End...that cracked me up when I read that a while back on your blog...a fave of yours too I see...well la de da!
ReplyDeleteI too have a clock fetish...ha! Loved the scenes of your homelund, looks like Ioway!
s
I got so carried away with the thought of tomatoes....I forgot to say I adore this poem....another one to post in our kitchen!
ReplyDeleteSweet Repose, and here, I thought no one noticed my clever little Howard's End quote a while back! I knew we were kindred spirits.
ReplyDeleteSo you're saying I should have planted habeneros along with the tomatoes & banana peppers?
ReplyDeleteLOVE the poem - you're so right that we should taste life!
P.S. We ate at the mill but were disappointed - slow service & cold food. HOWEVER, I had ordered their ginormous pancakes & brought most of them home & ate on them for several days - once warmed in the microwave they were FABULOUS!
What wonderful words, I'm so happy to have found your blog.
ReplyDeleteMy post has a dash of horseradish..glad to know there's room for spicing up life!!
ReplyDeleteLovely evocative piece, love the 'celibacy of the senses' phrase.
ReplyDeleteOh so sad, but true - my beloved will not eat tomatoes and it breaks my heart. A "celibacy of the senses" indeed! And an "incompatible condition."
ReplyDeleteHow I ask her, HOW, can you deny the taste of this most perfect fruit? Especially in summer when they are so huge, ripe, warm, and juicy?
It just kills me that this is a joy we can't share. She also will not eat peaches, strawberries, blueberries, or plums. Can you imagine!? It makes me so sad, and really is a bit of an issue between us!
i always love tomatoes,
ReplyDeleteeat them fresh during summer time,
excellent illustrations of tomatoes and its usefulness to life.
:)
I, too, am a fan of the tomato and loved your post on one of my favorite foods. This year,for the first time, I planted Julia Child tomatoes and am eagerly awaiting my first juicy bite.
ReplyDeleteWonderful piece Willow, I love my tomatoes fresh and raw...unsmothered with condiments and concern. I have the same feeling towards those who do not consume coffee as you to those who do get tomatoes... do not understand those people....how do they get through life?.....bkm
ReplyDeleteHa Willow!
ReplyDeleteLove your ditty
cute and witty
what a pity
nothing more rhymes that I wanted to say....
Oh woe is me. I have to admit to the world that I have never (and can't imagine it happening) eaten a whole tomato straight. In salads yes, in cooking absolutely, but I fear I would break out in hives with all that juice running free. On the other hand a mango really turns me on. Not celibate, but perhaps wearing a condom??
ReplyDeletelove the line
ReplyDeletebare mellow redness.
delish!
i hope i have some red tomatoes to harvest when i return!
I love tomatoes and onions, friend!
ReplyDeleteDelicious and inviting words Willow. I love eating sun warm tomatoes with one hand, just like an apple with the juices running down your chin. Divine. When did you change your photo? Very striking photo of you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, ET, it's a photo taken last summer. My daughter was here last week and suggested I use it, since it's her favorite picture of me. So, I did! :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun poem and so well written -- I loved this magpie!
ReplyDeleteDear Willow: I sense the Tuscany sensibilities here. Much gusto for a tomato lunch en pleine air. Love this line;
ReplyDelete"more liquid and coreless than Eve's apple,
are but mute strangers to me"
Those temptingly ripe tomatoes temptations await the palate takes too long to get to a plate; hear not their kirlian cries; divine feast on a vine...thus Willow caves to desire (thus the celibacy part) and then your basic "vini vidi vici" approach to tomato-preparedness the primal need to eat of the fruity/veggy flesh like Eve so wonted to do...ah ha! moment By Jove, I've Got it too! Who else in the family has this affliction for those tasty nibs in the gardens of our delight? (I admit I've got a terrible case of the "in situ ETC's or where they grow eat 'em Edible Tomato Compulsion").
Love the mag~ C'est magnifique!
Does anyone have a great gazpatcho recipe?
Hey, Chicco, I just so happen to have a super-duper gazpacho recipe and pic on my sidebar!
ReplyDeleteMagpie with a "tude" .... love it!
ReplyDeleteNow you have upset me Willow. And I thought you were my friend. And to denounce me in such a public way. Oh cruel you.
ReplyDelete'I cannot trifle with anyone
ReplyDeletewho will not taste life.' A delightful ending for a superbly crafted poem!
A pinch of salt...that's all I need...but I do love the gloriousness of all the extras...olive oil, onions, capers, basil, lots of black pepper, and on and on...
ReplyDeleteWillow I completly agree with you. This poem is so fresh and unique.
ReplyDeleteLove it! :-)
Me. Too.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I had a first date with a guy (we were both in our forties) who said he made frozen dinners every night for supper. We never had another date.
"Must love food."
ah yes! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death! Auntie Mame said that!
ReplyDeleteGreat Magpie!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKathew, I adore that Auntie Mame quote!! It pretty much sums up my point.
ReplyDeleteHi Willow, Nice poem, but I guess I don't qualify. :(
ReplyDeleteI do like onions and tomatoes - only the cooked versions. The exception being small diced tomato & onion in fresh salsa with hot peppers, olive oil, lime juice and cilantro. Does that count?
Love the poem. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteBrought back memories of my childhood. My granddad grew them and I used to spend hours with him as he looked after them in his greenhouse. He grew yellow ones especially for me and I used to sit and eat them straight from the vine. I can recall that tomato smell so vividly.
Witty and delicious! :)
ReplyDeleteWillow,
ReplyDeleteShe/he who plants a garden believes in the future.
And I guess it's OK to make a pass at you? ;)
rel
Anyone who has an ancestral castle named after a French ice-cream HAS to be worth following. Tom. X
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons I come here Willow is to get a little daily "taste of life". I have wonderful memories of eating ripe cherry tomatoes off my Grandmother's vine every summer!!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I missed a Howard's End quote!
:-(
Breathtaking, Willow!
ReplyDeleteLast summer, my friend and i were at the farmer's market buying tomatoes and we couldn't resist them and eat them like apples with juice running everywhere, laughing. This poem captures that moment for me!
Of course tomatoes and onions drizzled with olive oil, food for the Gods!
ReplyDeleteChristine
Oh wow! This is why I left my last boyfriend. I was too young to tell him so elegantly -- and he was probably too, um, foolish to understand.
ReplyDeleteSweet poem! The first stanza holds both bite and mellow. Mmmmm.
ReplyDeletemmm- got the grape tomatoes ripening up as we speak...gonna be goooood
ReplyDeleteJealous of your vegetables, and of your way with them in words.
ReplyDelete:-9
Tomatoes,
ReplyDeleteTrue, naked,alone.
Nuclear feast.
awesome! I love the reference to eve's apple, beautiful image which really adds depth. I almost died when I found out my husband doesn't like tomatoes...but then again, he grew up in the city and only tasted green house varieties, so can I really blame him? fresh off the vine, are truly divine!
ReplyDeleteDear Willow,
ReplyDeleteI have always loved tomatoes as fruit and vegetable, in salads, curry, with steak or fish, so your poem really evokes a sense of belonging.
Maybe you could put all the tomato inspired stories in a book and call it, 'THE TOMATO STORIES'!
Not very original, but you get the idea...
Thanks Willow!
Celibacy of the senses, I love that.
ReplyDeleteI am in agreement with you on this one.
Put a Zhivago hat on it and I'll taste anything. ;P
ReplyDeleteWhat a refreshing poem ! quite nicely done.
ReplyDeleteNino, that is actually a great idea! I'm going to think about that...hmm.
ReplyDeleteMagnificent!
ReplyDeleteThis poem elicited memories of my childhood in Michigan, where my siblings and I would wait anxiously for our Mom to distribute tomatoes as our summer snacks.
Thank you, Willow!
Lovely poem! I particularly like the comparison to Eve's apple.
ReplyDeletethe poem is perfection...as always
ReplyDeleteloved my visit here today.....
i have missed you, my friend
sending love
kary and teddy
xxx
Willow! Speaking of new sidebar photos....your is lovely!
ReplyDeleteI am 100% with you on this poem....NOTHING beats the smell and taste of a tomatoe and onion...warm from the sun and just picked.
Did I ever tell you my Mum came from Ohio? She was first generation - her parents were Croatian. They lived in a teensy town - Lansing....(that's Ohio, not Michigan). It is almost on the Ohio River and if you cross a bridge, you are in Wheeling, W.Va.
A hilly, magical place. I remember my Grandparents had tomatoes, onions and other veggies growing...and I can still remember the taste (and smell) of the first delicious tomatoe my Mum picked for me off the vine... heavenly!
So glad you daughter came to visit....you both must have had a wonderful time!
Hugs,
♥ Robin ♥
absolutely scrumptous!
ReplyDeleteWillow,
ReplyDeleteI love this! I will definitely have to "play" next go round...
Thanks for visiting my UDPS site.
Rhyme on!
Tim Keeton
(Undead)Poet / Wizard / Teller-of-tales
Willow,
ReplyDeleteI did a "duh"...
You visited my Tim Keeton, Writer site, not the Undead Poets Society (but please do stop by there as well).
Rhyme on!
Tim Keeton
(Undead)Poet / Wizard / Teller-of-tales
I love mustard and horseradish...I like to take some of the creamier horseradish and put it at the back of the roof of my mouth just to make my eyes water. Ha! Delicious.
ReplyDeleteFabulous Magpie, Love it!
great work willow. and a great expression of a personal philosophy I can totally support. love the last stanza. life is for the living!
ReplyDeleteWonderful poem Willow boy do i love tomatoes. I can't eat a meal without them and onions as well.
ReplyDeleteI keep seeing the image of this in my mind after reading it the other day. Onions , and abundant freshly ground black pepper , basil, good olive oil, sea salt.
ReplyDeleteLovely poem Willow! WIll become a follower:)
ReplyDeleteI was delaying making my dinner - a veggie sandwich and fruit smoothie. This poem has pushed me over the edge. Time to get offline! ; )
ReplyDelete