47th President Poem: Baskets of Peppers and Eggplants, by Eric Weil

At a country farm stand, hot peppers and eggplants
shine in woven baskets next to celery and melons. Beyond,
acres of tomatoes blush in the pleasure of ripening. News

videos show stiff-faced staff members at the nearby
migrant detention facility leading weeping children away
from their sobbing, incarcerated parents. The aroma

of cantaloupes smoothes the air. But where are the onions?
Still in the fields for lack of hands to pluck them
from the rich soil, to place them beside the baskets

of peppers and eggplants at the roadside market
near acres of tomatoes softening in the eye-baking sun.

Author: poetryfest

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