For day 10 of Nanonano at Real Toads. The floor is open for all poems as this is open link day at the Toads. Unprompted!!!!

copyright kanzensakura
Summer Tomato: A Love Poem
I’m not talking about those
mushy wannabe red globulous things
in plastic trays in the pro-duce section of the store –
I’m talkin’ ’bout tomatoes born
and raised in the heat of the summer sun,
sassy summer tomatoes full of juice,
so tangy and sassy that before
you can stick your fork into a slice
lying innocently upon a plate,
one of those bad boy slices
jumps up and slaps you across the face –
Twice.
No, not talkin’ ‘bout those demure sweet things,
those tame ‘maters with bland flavor –
I am talkin’ ’bout those full fledged
in your face, deep red, full of bite,
impertinent summer tomatoes.
And we all know the best ones comes
from the gardens of your mama,
your grandmama, a neighbor, your own backyard –
all kinds of ‘maters:
Rutgers, Better Boy, Homestead –
unpretentious no apologies ‘maters –
none of those trendy browngreenpurple ‘maters,
but warm from the sun – skin smooth and tight
Sayin’ to you –
Stroke me, hold me, bite me –
Slice me onto the plate,
Summer to-may-toes – The feisty street punk of tomatoes –
no sweet mushy debutante,
no dry flavorless academic,
no all on the outside nothing on the inside
tomato hypocrite…
The Real Summer Tomato:
‘tween my fingers and my thumb,
Watch out belly – here.it.comes.
Apr 10, 2018 @ 14:42:31
This is the most deliciously enticing ode to tomatoes ever! 😍😍
Apr 10, 2018 @ 14:49:57
You got a lotta nerve, Sister, posting this on the screen of a Northern Vermonter, a man stranded on the Canadian border, where there’s still nearly a foot of snow on the deck and where–even in the best of years–nothing like Summer arrives til mid-July, if at all, and lasts about a week and a half…
Apr 10, 2018 @ 14:52:46
Guess I’ll have to mail you a southern tomato sandwich sometime around the end of June….smiles
Apr 10, 2018 @ 16:40:45
My friend would love this, Toni. She’s a vegan who grows tomatoes in her garden, which isn’t huge but full of all sorts of produce. She lives off her garden and makes her own bread. I love this! The lines that made me crave for tomatoes are:
‘sassy summer tomatoes full of juice’
and
‘I am talkin’ ’bout those full fledged
in your face, deep red, full of bite,
impertinent summer tomatoes’.
I want some impertinent tomatoes!
Apr 10, 2018 @ 16:46:47
When they come in, I wish I could send you some!
Apr 10, 2018 @ 16:51:37
😊🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅
Apr 10, 2018 @ 17:00:52
No comparison, a homegrown tomato to a store bought…….I may just try to grow a tub on my balcony this year.
Apr 10, 2018 @ 17:01:32
Good for you!
Apr 10, 2018 @ 17:34:12
Oh gosh, how I miss the tomatoes of my childhood! Maybe I’d better start growing a few too.
Apr 10, 2018 @ 17:37:09
Sorry, I should mention (even if it’s obvious) how much your exuberant ode had me tasting and savouring them all over again, in memory and imagination … and longing.
Apr 10, 2018 @ 17:47:54
My man…the toMATEer king. Transplanted his seedlings into bigger digs this week. Love the feisty voice in this.
Apr 10, 2018 @ 22:51:47
This was so fun. I love “tomato hypocrite.”
Apr 10, 2018 @ 23:15:44
Quite a tomato song this… made me hungry 🙂
Apr 11, 2018 @ 13:25:37
I so agree – eating tomatoes warmed from the sun and just picked corn on the cob – does anything taste better. I’m standing up applauding this poem!
Apr 11, 2018 @ 13:39:46
bowing….Thank you!
Aug 10, 2018 @ 00:32:24
“Stroke me, hold me, bite me” Oh my! I’m not sure what I just read, but I love it.
This is great.