Not Citrus

I’m not really sure which fruit is my favourite, peaches, pears, bananas, apples … I’m allergic to citrus so they are not on any menu of mine …

NOT CITRUS

I am faithful to pears                                 
not oranges or lemons
or their nursery rhyme
of loudly ringing bells

any citrus makes me ill
leaves me gasping
trying to hold air
in hands and mouth

but pears …
they slide down
like children on banisters
if I bite them
they dribble
down my chin
like a full kiss

and the smell of pears
teases me with the desire
to peel and can them
with brandy
contain the succulence
against winter

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To Bethlehem: ‘This little book is delightful, full of … poems on this timeless subject. … the most fun is the little prose vignettes of the common people in the Christ-child story. The slave who looks after the wise men’s camels, or the overworked maid at the inn who has to fetch water for the birth, and many more. A lovely gift for the reader on your Christmas list!’ Rosalind Adams. Available from Amazon and Kindle.