Saturday, June 16, 2012

Prompt #105 – Fabulous Fruit


It’s mid-June, almost summer, and that means fresh fruit not available in winter is now abundant in the markets. This week, let’s write about what’s cool and fresh, juicy, ripe, and sweet – let’s “pick” a fruit and write a poem about it.

You might use fruit as a metaphor or symbol, or you might write an extended description of whichever fruit you “pick.” You might even use a particular fruit as the “trigger” for a memory poem – create a fruit pie or a fruit salad of memories. Another option is to write an ode to a type of fruit, or write a list poem in which you catalog a particular fruit’s qualities and associations. Write a history of your favorite fruit (see Dorianne Laux’s poem “A Short History of the Apple” linked below). Begin with a general description of a fruit and then move the poem into more personal focus through a special association (see Diane Lockward’s “Blueberry” linked below). Turn a bunch of grapes into a heady wine of imagery and metaphor. Have fun with this or be serious! (My advice is to nibble on a piece of fruit while you’re writing.)

Examples:


17 comments:

  1. I know it must sound
    like I am cherry-picking,
    but cherries are best.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment, Madeleine! It's blueberries for me! Are cherries in season now?

      Delete
  2. What a cool idea, and your suggestions are really interesting. Thanks, as always, Adele!

    Jamie

    ReplyDelete
  3. As Eliot said, "Do I dare to eat a peach?"

    Not really a poem about fruit, but here's the link to "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock" that sprang to mind when I read this week's prompt.

    http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20220

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, Eliot! My favorite poet, and Prufrock is one of my favorite poems. So glad you thought of it in connection with this prompt. Thanks so much for your comment!

      Delete
  4. O you mango!
    Fresh from the tree
    Just so lovely
    I ate three!
    Even lovelier
    you were gifted to me.
    How fortunate
    to share this bounty!
    We Rejoice!
    Life is nice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Three fresh from the tree! Thanks so much, Risa, for sharing with us once again!

      Delete
    2. Such a great, upbeat tone in this poem, Risa! Thanks for sharing it.

      Jamie

      Delete
  5. My Sweet

    my husband loves blackberries
    and blood oranges
    has visions of bottles of sweet liquors
    fashioned of those delectable delights
    their sweet aroma
    perfuming the air while our fingers
    and lips
    are stained with their colors
    some moments I spy him
    sneaking a berry
    or three
    grinning like a Cheshire Cat
    and it makes me love them too.


    http://mywordsarealive.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/my-sweet/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a lovely poem, Tania! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

      (Have you shown this poem to your husband? I'll bet he'd enjoy it!)

      Delete
    2. Tania, I can almost taste those blackberries! I hope you show this poem to your hubby.

      Jamie

      Delete
  6. Where's Jago this week? I miss the comments from Italy!

    Jamie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Jamie.
      I was in Paris .
      And now in Rome it is too hot to think about poetry!
      I feel like this seated figure of summer
      http://www.giuseppe-arcimboldo.org/Seated-Figure-of-Summer--1573-large.html

      Delete
    2. Oh! Lucky you, Jago! Paris must have been beautiful. I've always wanted to go there but haven't yet.

      Great sense of humor - the link to the picture to describe how you feel in the heat over there in Rome. Thanks for your response to my comment.

      Stay cool!
      Jamie

      Delete