CCD Presents: Red Pears – A Painting and A Poem

 The following prose poem was written by Susan Williamson in response to the painting Red Pears by Barbara Rizza Mellin, both of the Winston-Salem Writers.

Red Pears

I never met a pear I didn’t like, on the palate or from the palette. No attempt at perfect apple roundness here, but rather defining its own shape as it flows smoothly from stem to base. Reds , greens, golds glimmer. Sweet, slightly tangy at times, but never disappointing. Rich textured flavor, not the here-today, mush- tomorrow of a peach, nor the long suffering ripeness of an apple. The pear—sublime for a time.

My mouth waters.

Four, a number of plenty. Rich reds and golden reflections hint at royalty. Perched on a golden shelf before a beckoning darkness.

Would that I had a wall for them. Hand-painted pears rich with color and fresh with leaf adorn my cabinet knobs. A simple primitive pear in a dark frame, rescued from a thrift store, watches over my refrigerator. Two more, an antique painting on a dark green round of wood with gilded sides, look down upon my stove. A perfect ceramic pear holds salt.

Across the room, a blue ribbon from the Cleveland County Fair dangles beneath the cross- stitched pear my daughter crafted.

I yearn for more.

Susan Williamson

Susan Williamson is a lifelong horseperson, writer and educator. She is the former editor of a weekly newspaper and currently a freelance writer for the Weekly Independent. Williamson is a graduate of the University of Kentucky with an MS from the University of California, Davis. She is an active Board member of Winston-Salem Writers. She has worked as an extension agent, adjunct professor, riding instructor, horse trainer and manager of a local food coop.
Williamson lives outside of Winston-Salem with her husband, Wallace, Labradoodle, Remi and two horses.

Founded in 2005, Winston-Salem Writers is a group of writers who write fiction, non-fiction, plays and poetry, and who care about the art and craft of writing. They offer programs, workshops, critique groups, open mic nights, contests and writers’ nights out for both beginning writers and published authors. For more information, click HERE.