Foliage waves in the wind,  sun soaks orange beets, crinkly skin roots clutch soil tips thrust up, beg to be pulled, plopped in boiling water, like live lobsters. Bubbles rumble, cook beets, loosen grime which dim as fingers rub off skin— round balls shine like a baby’s butt. Warm     ready to slice,  to…

The speckled apple minus its bent brown stem recalls the scent  of cloves    a familiar fall fragrance squashed between  two oranges in the  full fruit basket    it mirrors sunlight from the window the apple waits for someone  to bite down carve out gaps release  its juicy taste

At thirteen she learns good taste, proper dress, how to speak,  carry herself, a refining process necessary for a Jewish princess      1960.  Once a week Saturday mornings Mom sends the teen by bus from Jersey to  New York.  She lunches  on a Woolworth’s burger takes a subway—  peers at people who mingle, talk…

She rushes home from school Thursdays white saddle shoes trimmed blue,  a striped shirt tucked tight to a flared pink skirt. She pulls the front beveled door,  lets the screen hit her bottom, aims fast  for the woman polishing silver. A worn apron, limp bow at the waist,  natty hair beneath a net. Cora turns,…

Over the apartment balcony the frozen lake sparkles. In the sunlight ripples of water cease, like the stillness of hanging curtains. Ducks curl, huddle stiff as statues beneath bending willows Black cattails battered by breezes fold in the cold Inside people cook, steamy soup simmers we stay warm, read under soft blankets by the sizzling…