Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Ode to an avocado




dressed with lemon,
garlic, olive oil & mustard-
a chef's delight

but i like you best
bare
sliced open under rough snake
skin
velvet ripe & creamy
belly

drizzled with sugar
& cold milk,
bowled dessert
of indolent summer days

plump smooth,

slivers of ambrosia      
your taste is only rivaled
by my other childhood memory-

cloistered nuns
making candied purple yams
stirring over
& over
flaming giant pan until
rough fibers turn sin-

fully lush
as nectar oil

decadent food 
for gods  
hand-bottled for sale in market -

pear-shaped
your green womb
wraps me tight like seed
coconut-shaped

pining for tropical sun-
   


Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - An oldie but good poem for today's Poetics by guest host, Lisa Fox (Jade Li).   Join us for a food-inspired prompt at 3pm EST.

Picture credit:   here

15 comments:

  1. Sounds so delectable, both avocado and plums!

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  2. I like avocados. We sometimes put them in omelettes. I hadn't noticed before, but it does seem to have a "snake skin".

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  3. I've never had an avocado as a dessert! I can't imagine it. I love your evocation of food - food is so powerful in conjuring up childhood memories. I like the way you take us back to your childhood and then right back to the avocado womb.

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  4. I love this poem! Your descriptions are heavenly. :)

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  5. I, like Sarah have never had avocado for dessert- how interesting! A mouthwatering delight Grace.

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  6. Sure tightly wrapped in am embrace indeed

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  7. I tend to forget that you are Filipino until something like avocado pops up. I fell in love with avocado ice cream on a trip to Manila. People forget that it is a fruit, after all!

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  8. I, too, was intrigued by avocado as dessert. Sounds scrumptious, as does the purple yam lush!

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  9. I imagine avocadoes have great memories for you also!
    Well done!

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  10. A delectable poem, Grace! I also love avocado; my husband smooshes it and spreads it on toast. Your dressing looks delicious. The rough snake skin is a reminder of its other name, the alligator pear, although the name makes it sound quite dangerous! Avocado sounds more edible, like your description of its ‘velvet ripe & creamy belly’. I like the transition from avocado to purple yams and nuns.

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  11. Made me hungry, but it's a long trek to the kitchen and 2 a.m. Guess i'll just digest your words.

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  12. This is wonderful ... the Pablo Neruda style of writing and ode is so inspiring for cooking. Especially the last part made me lick my lips.

    pear-shaped
    your green womb
    wraps me tight like seed
    coconut-shaped
    pining for tropical sun-

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  13. Wonderful imagery, Grace! Never thought about an avocado for dessert.

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  14. Wonderfully sensuous -- ah to pause and soak in food before tasting!

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