Explain Pablo Neruda's poem "Ode to Tomatoes".

An ode is a classical form that traditionally deals with a grand or important topic. Pablo Neruda's poem "Ode to Tomatoes", like the paradoxical encomium, applies this genre to a homely subject, a common food and cooking ingredient that is an essential element of the cuisine of his native Chile. 

Neruda himself was a communist, with strong sentimental ties to the working people and the oppressed peasants and indigenous peoples of small frontier towns. He regards them as the heart of Chile and much of his poetry praises the simple and everyday which he connects to the working class and poor. Thus in praising the simple tomato he engages in subtle political commentary, arguing for the importance of everyday people (who are metaphorically similar to this ordinary vegetable) and the peasants and small farmers who grow tomatoes.

He praises the tomato in its role as food, but mentions the paradox that to use the tomato in cooking we must destroy it:

Unfortunately, we must

murder it:

the knife

sinks

into living flesh,

red

viscera

Next, Neruda describes several forms of food preparation which include tomatoes, from salads and salsa to various forms of stew. 

The conclusion of the poem praises the way every part of the tomato is accessible and edible.