Russet--By Kelley White--United States

Russet

Potatoes with dirt
in a once-red string
bag. My finger
nails blackened
as I rinse them with
a brush. Your palms
lined with that same
same color, palms
pink against
your true black
arms.

Pediatrician Kelley White worked in inner city Philadelphia and now works in rural New Hampshire. Her poems have appeared in journals including Exquisite Corpse, Rattle and JAMA. Her most recent books are Toxic Environment (Boston Poet Press) and Two Birds in Flame (Beech River Books.) She received a 2008 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grant.