Lychee

 

the rush and whistle and clang and drone

   of existence outside the bristling skin

   of lychee means also thunderstorms of drink

 

thin its skin lantern-like diminutive

   in warm nights that when split

   its dark case elegantly releases

 

the whitest moon of flesh imaginable

   and inside that a sliver of seed

   with thoughts of more trees of moons

 

dropping into leaf-rich earth

   while lychee’s rose-like fragrance reaches

   upward into the near musical air

 

best before aroma and shape and colour fade

   cold in syrup with white ice-cream

   on an otherwise calm warm ordinary day 

Pomegranate

eat of the pomegranate and be glad

   for that other tree in the garden

   may bring you to sadness or madness

 

admire the lacquered red of the pomegranate

   select design of temple cloth and stone

   amidst glorious present shapes of earth

 

prise open and enjoy the pomegranate’s beads

   fleck and tang on tongue and mind

   forgetful a while either of need or death

 

listen to the modest scale of the pomegranate

   budding anew from immemorial

   unheard by the world’s noisy power play

 

take in the scent of the opened pomegranate

   intended beauty suffusing breath

   refusing thoughts of apathy or despair

 

 

Genesis 2: 9

1 Kings 7:20 

Pitaya

now the flaming green wings

   and rubicund circumference of the dragon

   might be a sight to draw awe or fright

 

and being smooth to touch curved and rubbery

   not mailed or plate-scaled or fire-breathing

   tests expectations and analogies

 

yet is neither exploding hand grenade

   nor tasselled psychedelic boombox

   split with a cleaver or tomahawk

 

it’s cactus its compacted aroma

   quintessence of tropic rainfall

   inside out of great scale persistent heat

 

its contracted reservoir mild sweetness

   anodyne soothing like so much to be said

   the opposite of what we assumed