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How do I love thee, tomato? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and might
My palate can reach, when remembering out of sight
Your peak month of August, when you bear fruits of juicy Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most urgent need for a BLT, by sun or moon-light.
I love thee with abandon, as Venus might her Mars or Vulcan.
I love thee purely, as surely as the summer wanes.
I love thee with the passion of my appetite
Above all fruits, and with my childhood's eye of Jersey tomatoes
As if they were falling from the sky.
I love thee with a hunger I seemed to lose
With my lost innocence (and the icky mealy tomatoes of January)! I love thee with the smell,
Unlike no other in the garden, and your vine-ripened sweetness
That bring me smiles, tears, only at this time of year! -- and if the farmers choose,
I shall but love thee better after many bowls of gazpacho.
This poem first appeared in the "What's Cooking/A Mighty Appetite" column in The Washington Post (August 7, 2006).
Used here with permission.
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Kim O’Donnel has spent the past 25 years working with food as a chef, journalist, and teacher. A former resident of Seattle, she now lives in Pennsylvania. Kim is the author of three cookbooks, including PNW Veg: 100 Vegetable Recipes Inspired by the Local Bounty of the Pacific Northwest. This past April, Kim went to Poland as a World Central Kitchen volunteer, cooking for Ukrainian refugees. Learn more about her at https://kimodonnel.substack.com/about.
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Jancan:
This is an excellent poem--so descriptive, full of detailed praise for the tomato, entertaining, and creative. Now I have a "most urgent need for a BLT"!
Posted 07/24/2022 04:34 PM
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KinVT:
That pretty much sums up the depth of ones love for the tomato!
I couldnt agree more. Well done :)
Posted 07/23/2022 08:22 PM
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Stephen Anderson:
Tis a deliciously devine poem, Kim!
Posted 07/23/2022 12:24 PM
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Lori Levy:
Unique tomato sonnet.
Posted 07/23/2022 11:47 AM
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Arlene Gay Levine:
This poem is delicious in all ways!
Posted 07/23/2022 11:10 AM
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Larry Schug:
My dog ate our first big,juicy tomato right off the plant! Gotta keep him out of the garden. This poem is ripe with the joy of garden tomatoes after a winter of those tasteless orbs bought at the store throughout the winter.
Posted 07/23/2022 08:17 AM
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