Image by arbyreed via Flickr
Crynkovic Yugoslavian
Voluptuous Earth Goddess,
bearer of sacred promise,
fruitful Mother,
we savor your delight.
Misinformed misogynist,
the patriarchal Hesiod,
knew not the taste of pleasure
nor the scent of paradise.
Photo: V. Slotto
The Crynkovic Yugoslavian is a variety of heirloom tomatoes whose seed originated in (you guessed it) Yugoslavia. When my gardener-husband harvested this one last evening it brought to mind early goddess images, most often depicted as curvaceous figures without distinct features. If you’ve never enjoyed heirloom tomatoes, you’ve missed a truly divine experience.
Hesiod’s work on mythology downplays the role of feminine deities.
Victoria C. Slotto, Author 
An earthy and delicious poem and rather complex given its brievity. A few layers in there. Great photos. Bless hubby with his tomatoes and his photographs. Nice collaboration here …
The tomatoes look absolutely Yum! – my fave fruit, I think. Have them almost everyday.
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awesome!
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LOL! That is so delightful! I received your poem by email without the photos and didn’t see the tomatoes. I studied and studied your poem for a few minutes trying to discover what “Crynkovic” is or means…. I even followed your link about Hesiod, but that only answered the misogyny thing. Then I got down to your last paragraph about it being a variety of tomato. And all the words came rushing into me, Voluptuous, bearer, fruitful, savor, taste and scent…… Oh that was enjoyable.. Thank you….. I want to eat that tomato on the bottom…. I love it when they triple in on themselves like that. When they do that sometimes they get big enough for a single slice to cover the whole sandwich!
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Thanks, John. Yes, I guess it would be a bit obscure without the image or process notes. We ate it tonight. Oh, yum.
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the fruit of the earth. my italian mother grows tomatoes on her balcony. just had one in a sandwich for lunch yesterday. besides the flavor, how nice is it to eat a vegetable without wondering what sort of pesticide i have to scrub away with soapy water.
taste of please and scent of paradise… so nice.
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An interesting connection to see fertility gods in a tomato, Your image however, makes clear the cause of your inspiration.
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Lovely verse, and such an interesting inspiration!
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Slurp .. I was salivating as I read this. YUM … tomatoes, mozzrella, basil and olive oil.
What am I doing?
Yes … this was GREAT … talked to all of the senses.
Hungry smiles,
Izzy
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Yep. The hubby grows the basil, too. And Balsamic vinegar, Yum.
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Oh man I love tomatoes! A big dark ripe one on a bologna sandwich! Yummmm! We have Grainger County Tomatoes here (google it) and my goodness they are goooood! Sorry…but those images just made my mouth water lol! And your words…”savor your delight”..oh yea, yea we do! Great post!
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I fear I have missed out on the divine tomato experience, but I always love to taste the fruit of your pen, Victoria. I’m the wiser and more spiritually complete with every visit. This week is no exception. Now, how do I keep eastern woodland critters from a garden of such earthly delights?
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You’re right–those tomatoes look like full, rich female forms. One of my sisters grows heirloom tomatoes too. Once when she was visiting the family here in Florida, her boyfriend shipped some to us fresh from their garden. They’re so different from ordinary, store-bought fruit.
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I just want to bite into one.
Cheers!
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The first stanza is any of a thousand prayers I’ve heard offered in so many churches – and all the more brilliant for that. The second is as impressive, but I’m having trouble putting them in the same poem. Are they one or two? Either way, it’s a delightful post.
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… and you make tomato poetic and delightful in a few words … bravo!
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I love this, those early Earth Goddesses were molded in curvaceous, organic lines, like your artistic eight phrases!
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Simply delicious … now I want a sun ripened juicy tomato
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Mmm… I’m hungry now. I love the metaphor of the tomato and voluptuous women of yesteryear.
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oh i love tomatoes…had a BLT tonight…what a luscious fruit…oh i would bow to her…smiles.
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A beautiful fertile goddess indeed. And SO tasty looking.
I actually often enjoy a whole fresh ripe tomato as a snack.
So much goodness from the Earth.
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Interesting, what one can get to learn…
Beautiful words
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Pretty 🙂 a poem about tomatoes linked to deity, I like the originality 🙂
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Victoria, really a novel write. Creative mix of mythology, pleasure(sensory) and vegetation. Really doing a lot in such an abbreviated piece. I’m an admirer of those out there that can put forth so much in so little space:) Wonderfully penned, and now I’m going to have to see if they sell Heirloom Tomatoes at the local grocer
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Awww that’s such a sad comment about the swan. I’ve always loved their gracefulness as they seem to glide effortlessly across the water. They also fascinate me because they mate for life, too. I find that such a wonderful animal love story, but them crows are another creature that mates for life.
Nature is amazing isn’t it and most of we humans do everything we can to destroy it. For a creature of such beauty to be killed by a golf ball, so sad. We keep on taking away all of their habitats and then we wonder why bears and coyotes have to resort to coming into town to search for food, because we keep building on their hunting grounds and taking it all away from them.
Gosh, I’m on my soap box here. LOL
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Sensual eroticism at work here – makes me want to bite into a luscious tomato right now (0045am)
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This piece spoke both to the proud woman and the avid gardener within. Sensuous, fertile, rich.
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Glad you explained the title as I was lost, guessed it was the tomato though..haha. And wow you described it great. So much from the tomato, very nice.
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They say there is a reason why fruits and other things in nature closely resemble human parts which is to attract us to them and also that we humans are programmed to ‘see’ faces in everything. Maybe it’s true, maybe not but this is delicious both pic and prose.
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I have tasted these delicious tomatoes and your poem does them proud! How wonderful to take something your husband grew and write the perfect poem to accompany it.
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Delicious tomatoes…. 🙂 scent of paradise……
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The sensuality borne by a non-conforming tomato… I once read that Frank Lloyd Wright was asked what his favourite shape was. He said, “An egg.” I’ve never looked at eggs the same since!
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…oh and i once made a trip to yugoslavia…but this is a different story and i could probably write a book about it…smiles
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you make tomatoes sound like a magical goddess victoria…bearer of sacred promise…goodness…i want some of these tomatoes or i think i will die….smiles
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