Fireburst

by Ben Rasnic

Jalapeños, cayennes &
habaneros
hang like Christmas ornaments
in their clay containers;

reds & yellows,
greens & orange
basking in the mid-
Atlantic august sun.

Peppers, waxed & polished,
crave the next eruption
of nor’easter rainfall;

capsaicin branding
the soft inner flesh,
bursting with seeds.