D’Anjou by Sandra Rivers-Gill

D’Anjou
for George Floyd

I had forgotten its coolness I carry
from ice box to counter slab.

A pear’s taste is a hot commodity,
crisp and sweet.
Its body bares a certified label —
the inspector’s choice.

Its unbroken skin sits silent
on my countertop.

The greenish-gold of its silhouette
does not wobble or
collapse like a cracked egg.

Funny how present tense
can worm its way into a memory.

When I was a young girl,
the white woman next door grew pear trees —
littered the ground with their fruit.

I had forgotten.
By summer’s end she donned a straw hat,
climbed the ladder to her constellation of crops,
shared them with my brother and me.
The pears sat in our kitchen windowsill.
Our noses pressed against the scent
till they were ripe enough.

Now I stand at my kitchen counter
paring the skin from its flesh.

Its fresh tears stream in my hands.

I had forgotten pears ripen
at room temperature,
in their cultural climate.

I remember the instructions
that guarantee a pear’s ripeness:
simply press its neck.

*

A native of Toledo, Ohio, Sandra Rivers-Gill is a writer, performer, and playwright. Her poetry has appeared in or is forthcoming in journals and anthologies, including Of Rust and Glass, Common Threads, Poetry X Hunger, Death Never Dies, Kissing Dynamite, Mock Turtle, and Braided Way Magazine.

14 thoughts on “D’Anjou by Sandra Rivers-Gill

  1. I missed this when it first came out so I am grateful that it was nominated for Best of the Net which made me seek it out. Reading an article recently about poetry and poets reminds me that some of the best poems, like yours, tell the truth but “tell it slant,” to quote or misquote Emily Dickinson.

    1. Hello Betsy, thank you so much for your comments. I love ‘tell it slant’ and try to incorporate this device in my storytelling. Emily Dickinson is a delight to know!

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