Winter peach

late-winter evening sky reflecting the colors of the under-ripe peach in your hand

orange flame against a deep purple backdrop

overlain with greyish fuzz

blurring the colors

peach and sky both harsher than you had hoped

as one bite clashes against the pit

hoping it didn't break your artificial tooth

turning back to the house, the blazing coral sky watches you from both sides

reflecting from the two windows like fiery eyes daring you to come back before the light fades away

the chill descending after an unseasonably warm day

peaches always remind you of when you drank nothing but their juice for three months in a foreign country

wondering what this magical fruit was that they squeezed such delicious nectar out of

until you finally turned the carton around to the english side and realized that the mysterious "durazno"

was just an ordinary stone fruit

how can you tell the difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary

when nobody even knows what out-of-season means anymore

the rhythms of weather and produce

are anybody's guess now

peaches in the dead of winter

Reviews

[Einstein Noodle]

thanks for my word of the day and quickie lesson in Spanish ;) using second person can be tricky but you do it without the feelings of accusation or being preachy ... i am actually welcomed in in this poem ... the turn in closing is strong and opens up a panorama of interpretations ... the social commentary gives me food for thought .. this is a difficult and fast paced/changing world we live in ... confusion about just about everything is mistaken for cream coming to the top ...sometimes i am sorely tempted to let go of hope ... the clinging just seems to take more than I have ;( answers too evasive ... and i consider myself an optimist .. fine read for me lizardbrain :) thanks for sharing
E.

[John the Baptist]

This very well done poem is probably about more than the surface wording seems to say. The imagery is vivid, word painting a scene for the reader's eye. There is something more here, though, a somberness projected through the imagery of the winter sky. It comes across as a feeling of uncertainty, maybe of disappointment, enhanced by the brief vignette of the time in a foreign land. I get the feeling there was some kind of loss that has shaken the speaker's capacity for faith and trust. There is no certainty there will be a happy ending. But of course, that's life. Well done.

[lizardbrain]

thank you.. even i am not sure what the underlying feelings of this poem stemmed from.. i worked with some of the wording today after letting the poem rest overnight, if you'd like to give it another read :)

[John the Baptist]

Admittedly, I was groping for meanings. It may be just a photo of a beautiful moment of nature that caught your eye. It's still a beautiful poem.