"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.

Andrea M. Penner, When East Was North, Mercury Heartlink, 2013