ambrosia pinklady and honeycrisp
jonathan rome grannysmith gala fuji
and mcintosh
like shining rubies as harvest apples appear
at farmer roadside stands

paper bags for stacked ears
corn on the cob the squeak-sound of pulling down
the silk checking for worms
removing the husks cooking
salt shaker slather butter up and down
the front teeth chattering like a typewriter
clearing the cob row after row
then a toothpick
or a fingernail

when the tooth fairy stole my front
teeth at the age of six mom
removed the corn from the cob
with a sharp knife
to chew with my back teeth
called the
strips of kernels traincars

she's flown this planet forty years now
but her warm nearness
as the harvest in early fall










3.3 10/10
© Brian Peter Hodgkinson