Swiss Cheese

sculptors have been
in the pantry the cheese
all Swiss now

Gold Standard

the miner’s tin perk
cheering body and soul
a gold standard

cherries glisten
in a fruit stand basket
sampling with my eyes

chewing brownies
the lingering taste
of a bad nut

the newlyweds’ first meal
chicken tenders
and tater tots

My response to the Ragtag daily prompt: TENDER

ship bringing food
reaches the besieged town
only children at the dock

the first melon
picked from my own vine
not quite ripe

sidewalk baker
stirs in pine cones and pebbles
mud pies for sale

onion on cutting board
white flesh exposed, awaiting
dissection at noon

cheese slice slithers
on mayo, topped with lettuce—
the Orange and the Green

meat comes next—does
the Queen ever eat salami?
I chew on the thought

arc bite in sandwich
I ponder the universe
time stops for lunch

field mice scurry over
a hill of harvested grain
abundant blessings