Foods have the unique ability
to agitate half a population
and animate the other half
to fight as if that food were
their only nourishment
for the rest of their lives.
Although green tomatoes exist
throughout the year like other tomatoes,
these limed and bitter coins 
reemerge with the summer
to claim a seat among
the other appetizers tired by their stay
as a staple of the American palate.
Although every morsel
is magnified multiply
through immersion in boiling oil,
green tomatoes release their taste best
when paired with other constrasting flavors.
No two finished fried products
ever taste the same, 
so perhaps the disgust
these humble friends have earned
results from the wrong example.
Much like summer itself,
some days scorch while some only shine,
and some people reinforce
the goodness we know exists in our centers
as others remind us why
we each develop individual textures,
like we each develop unique tastes
that barely rationally motivate us.

And don’t get me started on the deliciousness of pimento cheese.