Blueberry
by Diane Lockward
Deep-blue hue of the body, silvery bloom
on its skin. Undersized runt of a fruit,
like something that failed to thrive, dented top
a fontanel. Lopsided globe. A temperate zone.
Tiny paradox, tart and sweet, homely
but elegant afloat in sugar and cream,
baked in a pie, a cobbler, a muffin.
The power of blue. Number one antioxidant fruit,
bantam-weight champ in the fight against
urinary tract infections, best supporting actor
in a fruit salad. No peeling, coring or cutting.
Lay them out on a counter, strands of blue pearls.
Pop one at a time, like M&M’s, into your mouth.
Be a glutton and stuff in a handful, your tongue,
lips, chin dyed blue, as if feasting on indigo.
Fruit of the state of New Jersey.
Favorite fruit of my mother.
Sundays she scooped them into pancake batter,
poured circles onto the hot greased griddle, sizzled
them gold and blue, doused with maple syrup.
This is what I want to remember: my mother
and me, our quilted robes, hair in curlers,
that kitchen, that table,
plates stacked with pancakes, blueberries sparkling
like gemstones, blue stars in a gold sky,
the universe in reverse,
the two of us eating blueberry pancakes.
It’s amazing how Diane Lockward manages to wax lyrical about so small a fruit. After coming across this poem, I felt compelled to post it on my blog as I adore blueberries. It’s a pity that they are so expensive here in Singapore. If they were less expensive, I’d be buying punnets of them, and stuffing my face.
In London during summer when blueberries are in season, I used to buy blueberries and strawberries every other day from the fruit stall stationed just outside Holborn station. My office was near there and every day I would walk past the stall. My breakfast consisted of fruits most of the time – strawberries, blueberries, nectarines, grapes, and clementines were the usual suspects. My English colleagues deemed me to very healthy for eating fruits for breakfast every day. I don’t think anyone else had the same habit. Anyway, when blueberries were in season, they were cheap – something like £1.50 for a small punnet of fresh blueberries. I would down all of them in one sitting and get my antioxidant boost. Perhaps that’s why I was pretty healthy the months I was in Europe.
Like Lockward writes, I love how blueberries are so easy to eat. You only have to wash them and then they can be popped straight into your mouth. When they are nice and fresh, there’s a slight crunch as you bite into them. For me, I like blueberries best fresh. I would only ever bake them if they were overripe. I feel that it’s a waste of the fruit if one bakes or cooks them when they are freshly harvested. That said, I have a weakness for blueberry pancakes.
Fresh blueberries and strawberries go well with desserts such as pavlova or some other really sweet dessert. Their tartness helps to balance the sweetness and makes the dessert go down easier on the palate. Blueberries are also great additions in fruit salads. I would be one of the culprits picking them out in a salad bowl. ;p
I guess blueberries should be in season very soon and I’m hoping prices of blueberries in Singapore will come down a wee bit so that I can at least indulge in them a little more!