Tangelo
This is a poem that I wrote in roughly half an hour at a student coffeehouse. The title of the poem was a random suggestion from a student. Enjoy.
The merging of fruit from the vine
Two breeds of citrus intertwined
Tangerine, Orange, bred in kind
Just like the Bride of Frankenstein
How does the flavor grab my tongue
With nothing natural in hand?
Some citric Never-Never Land,
Acidic songs that must be sung.
What manic scientific minds
Could spawn this tang with silky sweet?
Monstrosities one dares to eat
Defying both the pits and rinds
When nature takes the cue to call
And birth some blooming fruit to life
It takes a certain hint of strife
For Mother N to grow it all.
So why should men in bright white coats
Create what passes past our gums?
Because with science, fortune comes!
And turns our fruit to ice cream floats!
Nature’s candy, once it was
Now simply something to consume
So our busy lives can resume
Just choke it down, enjoy the buzz!
Why should you question what you eat?
The label says it’s good to go
And you know all you need to know
About these chemical sweetmeats.
So ere you bite into that plum,
Might you not wonder where it’s from?
What fingers have been in the pie
That you so happily imbibe?
And are you sure its safe to chew
Some nectarine of yellow hue?
So tangelo might have to go,
And though it rhymes with marshmellow
And has a quaint phoshoral glow,
Alas, my friends, I must say “no.”
