Thursday, January 24, 2013

"Forbidden Fruit Jam" Apron

Albuquerque artist, Shari Adkisson, has launched her second annual Womyn's Work Apron Project in honor of International Women's Month (March). Shari made an apron to illustrate my "Forbidden Fruit Jam."
Shari Adkisson's artistic apron vision of Andi's poem, "Forbidden Fruit Jam"
The poem itself concludes by book, When East Was North. Very cool to see it off the page and into art space. Here it is, for you, dear reader, off the apron and onto the blog:

Forbidden Fruit Jam

Sunday’s sermon title
on the Baptist Church sign
sternly warns:

forbidden fruits
make many jams.

As I drive past,
my thoughts ripen
toward luscious, lickable loganberry lips,
and sweet, dark cherry syrup
finger-spread across your
            tongue.

Our table is laden with fresh figs and dates,
     lychee and kumquat.
Golden grape clusters spill over platters
     of persimmon, quince, orange, and lime.

In the steamy kitchen
you peel soft skin
from round ripe peaches
while I pare the zest of citrus rinds
until our hands
preserve the scent of pleasure.

Exotic fruit flesh bubbles
     into thick aromas.
You kiss the marmalade sweat
     from my neck and brow—

Oh, don’t stop now—

Keep stirring our wild raspberry-rhubarb passion
until the perfect full rolling boil
draws me in sticky sheets
and we can keep
the lid
on this jar
no longer.

Unintentionally evoking
the tangy spice
of our illicit mango love,
that preacher will never know
the delicious truth
of his marquee’s message.

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