experiment: kumquat

[TO BE READ IN DAVID ALAN GRIER'S "MAYA ANGELOU"*]

what a curious citric creature is the kumquat!
the shape, the swell and weight
of the skin.
the undulatory sweets and stings as it's juiced
over tongue.
sourer than the grapefruit.
sweeter than the lemon.
tearing at the enamel, straining to be
swallowed. brisk. taste well made for a marmelade.
sized like an old-fashioned bullet
in your hand, just begging to rain
over the heads of your siblings.

ah, kumquat! tart mercies unpeeled,
pulps ill concealed in the crook of your
two front teeth.


what i have learned:

- they are pretty fantastic.

- there's a lime/kumquat hybrid called the limequat! i paid decent attention in hs bio but i don't remember the punnet square on that one. dream come true.

*someone please post Maya Angelou for Fruit Loops on youtube. I really want to watch it.