‘Don’t touch the kumquat vodka…’ #poetry #dVerse

Sweet on the outside
skin soft and waxy-tough
bitter in the middle

My Auntie bought a bag of them
she told me ‘these are not for you’
which meant (of course) I had to try:
I didn’t like them.

Originally from China
a place where I have never been
oriental citrus

A Twenty-something housesitting
the Cemetery Lodge,
‘Help yourself to the liquor, girl, but please
don’t touch the kumquat vodka…’

Where did it come from?
Possibly a gift from Greece
not to be squandered.

Last year I found some
in a fragrant garden by the Med
where the warm sea breeze swept
over Calahonda.

Sweet on the outside
skin soft and waxy-tough
bitter in the middle

Tasting like marmalade, or candied fruit
tang on the tongue of bitter citrus juice
ripe in the sunshine:
this time I liked it.

© Experimentsinfiction 2021, All Rights Reserved

Written for dVerse

Kim is hosting Poetics, and asks us to take inspiration from Imtiaz Dharker’s poem, ‘How to Cut a Pomegranate:’

The challenge is to think of a fruit, how it looks before and after it has been cut open, and how it tastes. Think about where and how it grows, and what it makes you think of. You may choose to write a poem in the style of Imtiaz Dharker, or you can explore the fruit in another way and in any form you choose. Whichever you choose, your poem should appeal to the senses.

I wanted a fruit which was a bit unusual (at least where I’m from) and which has immediate sensory appeal. A kumquat is a kind of back-to-front citrus fruit, with the bitter taste coming not from the peel but from the juice in the centre. I revisited some old memories of times when this fruit has touched my life.