who
would have
guessed that past
your unfriendly
exterior was
a sweet reward for those
who adventured? who was the
first to make the discovery?
bright and beautiful, your scaly hide
suits the fierce creature for whom you were named,
even the plant which yields you is prickly,
unwelcoming, dangling and serpent-like,
was it a wanderer sick from thirst
who was the first to conquer you?
who knew cactus could produce
a sweet fruit, gorgeous in
fuschia pink color,
with juices that
dye your skin,
purply
red?
© Susan Joy Clark 2021
This poem was written for the dVerse Poetics challenge. We were challenged to describe a fruit’s exterior and interior in a form of our choosing. I chose a double etheree. Dragonfruit (pitaya) seems to be getting trendy in the U.S., but I have only tried it recently. I bought some frozen cubes of the fruit to use in a fruit punch at Easter, and it did dye my hands with its juice. It seems it can also be white on the interior as well.
Gorgeous, like the fruit itself.
Thanks so much. 🙂
Amazing fruit and you described it so well. That bright color so sweet, yummy!
Thank you, Grace. 🙂
Wonderful! I have a very curious son who went out to purchase some. You describe it so well.
Thank you, Dale. Yes, I think I bought mine back at Easter time out of curiosity also. It’s so pretty. 🙂
Great poem! Wow! this is the first I have seen this fruit! It looks like raspberry watermelon!!
Well done.
That’s a pretty good description. Thanks so much. I’m glad you enjoyed my poem.
You are welcome!
A new fruit to me, looks tasty in cubes.
It does look pretty, doesn’t it? Thank you. 🙂
You’re welcome 🙂
Kudos to that person and then for those who followed. Yay! fruit.
Thanks for sharing.
I do wonder about things like this sometimes. Who discovered that a coffee bean could make a delicious drink, for instance? Thanks for your comment, Selma. 🙂
The epitome of ‘exotic’ fruit (at least to me) – I think I’ve tried it before, but never fresh off a cactus. I didn’t know they grew on cactuses so thanks for enlightening me 🙂
Honestly, I just learned it myself. I was curious about how they grew and looked it up. What I learned helped me with my poem writing. 🙂
I have never seen dragonfruit in real life, but my goodness, what an amazing colour and pattern to the flesh. Your double etheree has done it justice, Susan. The title of your poem made me think of St George and the dragon, so I imagine a thick, unwieldy skin, a ‘scaly hide’ that you must through before you can enjoy the ‘sweet reward’. I love the description in the lines:
‘even the plant which yields you is prickly,
unwelcoming, dangling and serpent-like’.
I like the imagining of the first person to discover its potential.
Btw I just looked it up – it’s astonishingly dangerous-looking!
Thank you, Kim. I love your thorough comment, sharing all your thoughts. It is a dangerous looking fruit. Buying the frozen fruit was simple. I don’t exactly know how to get past the scaly hide, so if I ever buy a fresh one, I may have to read some cooking tips. 😛 🙂
I have never tasted dragonfruit… I think I might have seen it a few times… it sounds worth testing.
Yes, I saw it quite a few times before I finally tried it myself.
I’ve only consumed a few in my life, but loved their taste and their beautifully unique interior! A lovely poem.
Thank you, Helen. They are very unique looking, I think. 🙂
I like dragon fruit, and I have a small plant – still waiting for it to bear though. I have to keep it indoors because we get heavy frosts over winter. Hopefully next season.
Wonderful poem!
Thanks Kate. I will be very curious about your dragonfruit plant. You’ll have to share an update. 🙂
Oooh this is absolutely riveting 😀 I have never had dragon-fruit before .. so it was fun visualizing through your words. 💝💝
Thank you so much, Sanaa. 🙂
Wow! I love this! I’ve always wanted to try dragonfruit and now I will!
Thanks. I hope you like it. 🙂
You’re very welcome.
🙂