for Sarah, Community Champion on the Macmillan Cancer Support forum
O Grapefruit! We shall sound thy praise
and celebrate with tuneful lays
from breakfast time til end of days —
Thou choicest fruit! —
for gifting us with such a taste
none dare dispute.
All other fruit doth seem to fade
when set against thy marmalade
or halved and on a dish arrayed
with grapefruit spoon
to segment with serrated blade
thy rosy moon.
O Citrus paradisi fair!
O Pamplemousse beyond compare!
Thy globe doth cross the world ensnare —
Annwyl Grawnffrwyth! —
yet lovers need thy pips beware
nor take thy pith.
Fair full thy zesty sunset rind,
Great Chieftain of the citrus kind!
Alas! These years I am resigned —
I must thee slight
for in thy radiant star I find
my kryptonite.
I wrote “You can keep the kimchi” for a friend about to start chemo, and with her blessing posted it on a couple of online forums. A response on the Macmillan board led to this (even more niche) second poem. Depending on the drugs given, some people on chemo should avoid eating grapefruit and seville oranges.
… with apologies to Burns and his haggis! I hope the poems raise a smile.