A bowl of limes
in Mexican pewter

its lines drew me
at the thrift store

coarse engravings
a primordial river

and lighter than
it looks

.

A lime tree does better
in drought

than in abundance
deprivation

at its sour heart
although with so much juice

it’s tempting
to say sweetness

of course it isn’t
but is also not bitter

the childlike green
belies the nuance

.

It is a promise
in a way

to keep a bowl
replenished

to work with
transient things

cooking a reductive
practice

each meal an ending
from life, life

and never another one
quite the same