A couple of weeks ago, I braved moving on from sketching to do my first acrylic painting. The subject was a humble freshly picked tomato from the family allotment. The painting isn’t perfect but I’m quite proud of my effort.
Mister suggested I accompany my picture with a saucy, gently humorous free verse poem that I wrote more than two decades ago and then posted on my blog in its early days. The verses heralded from a challenge I set one winter Sunday afternoon while visiting some dear friends. This followed on from a roast dinner and an unspecified number of glasses of red wine, so all present were feeling particularly merry. It involved us each writing a poem in five minutes on a given subject, the first subject being “tomato”.
Plump tomato you remind me of Maisie on a Sunday, scrubbed clean beneath a fresh bonnet, shiny red cheeks green eyes and lace frills, smiling, basket upon arm. Maisie loves the vicar and brings him freshly picked tomatoes matching her cheeks. She smells of compost and lavender soap. He asks her for lunch after church. Their eyes meet over large tomatoes eaten whole that squelch as the juice runs down their chins. She giggles into her lace handkerchief, he wipes his chin on the tablecloth, and over the crockery they kiss, all tasting of fresh tomatoes. She giggles some more. He squeezes Maisie the plump tomato and they disappear under the table beneath newly-pressed linen. Maisie's cheeks ripen until she shines with the shiny red plumpness of ready-to-eat fruit. The vicar praises God for tomatoes and descends upon Maisie for dessert. Copyright(c)Sarah Potter, 1997
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Sarah Potter Writes 
Dear Sarah,
What a delightful poem/story. I could envision the whole affair. 😉 The tomato looks good enough to eat.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
I’m glad you enjoyed my cheeky little poem 🙂 The tomato that posed for my painting was totally delicious — lovely and sweet and fresh compared to bought tomatoes.
I’m really enjoying painting. It’s very therapeutic and calming.
All best wishes,
Sarah
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Mister asks and you deliver….”praises God for tomatoes…I almost fell out of my chair laughing. You, my friend, are a hoot, and I thank you for the wonderful romp under the table.
And yes, well done on that painting. I figure if it looks like a tomato, you succeeded admirably.
I hope all is well with you and Mister. Sending hugs across the Pond.
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Now that is a vision… you almost falling out of your chair laughing. We are all in need of a good laugh, especially at the moment, so I’m very pleased I’ve succeeded on that front!
I’m not really into abstract painting, so I’m truly happy that my tomato looks like a tomato. I’ve been to some art exhibitions where a painting might have been labelled as a particular thing and I stand there scratching my head in bemusement, trying to see that thing.
We’re okay across the Pond, apart from dentist related things — Mister, a tooth extraction, and me having had to chew on one side of my mouth in case I crack a root-filled tooth, as the dentist isn’t allowed to use a high-speed drill to fit the tooth with a crown due to Covid restrictions.
Thanks for your hugs. I am send you sending plenty of hugs in return.
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Well good luck with the teeth. I had a front tooth pulled about four months ago….it’s not like anyone notices the front tooth, right? lol So far I haven’t had a replacement put in, due to a lack of funds. I’m starting to get used to it, so maybe not. I can’t eat corn on the cob, which is a loss, but other than that…..
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My brother has two front tooth missing. I think it makes him look even more characterful than usual. He says, who cares, as the only times he goes out in the public at the moment is to go shopping for food and has to wear a facemask. Guys sort of look better than women with missing teeth, as it’s kind of manly and rugged! Anyway, now you’ve told me about your missing tooth and you know I’m not going to be alarmed by it if I were to have a facetime conversation with you, perhaps we can have that long-awaited chat soon… very soon 😉
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That’s certainly a very risqué poem, Sarah. Thanks for the giggles. Your painting is quite luscious. 😍
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Thank you, Sylvia. I’m so glad my risqué poem made you giggle and you thought my painting luscious 🙂 No salivating in front of your computer now… you might cause it to short circuit 😉
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😜🤣
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The painting is lovely and the poem, a cheeky fun romp! You saucy one…
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Thank you, Dale 🙂 Oh, that I had the energy to be saucy these days 😉
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I hope that energy returns. This was so much fun
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A saucy, funny poem Sarah, and your tomato painting is very good – you’ve done the light in a lovely way that makes the tomato look shiny and luscious!
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Thank you, Andrea 🙂 I swear that homegrown tomatoes are shinier than shop-bought ones. I’ve just finished an A3-size painting featuring other produce. Will post it on my blog soon, minimised in size of course!
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Your poem adds the perfect bit of spice to the tomato painting, which really does look like a tomato. Well done and thank you for making me laugh out loud.
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I’m so glad to have made you laugh out loud, Patricia 🙂 My apologies for being so long responding to your comment. I’ve not been blogging as frequently as usual in these strange times, so have only just read your kind words.
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