An toradh ag a bhfuil an stair is faide ar domhan, fige
Creidtear leis gurb é an chéad toradh feirme é.
Theip ar mhisean na duilleoige fige i bParthas – chroch
An toradh go mímhodhúil ó chrann, chomh bog le magairle.
Athraíonn dath a craicinn ó bhuí is donn go corcra maorga.
Suíonn siad ar a dtóin mhéith sa mhargadh
Leagtha amach go néata i gciseán. Beir ar a gas gobach
Uirthi agus sáigh do dhéad go séimh inti, is tais lonrach
Dearg breacbhuí súmhar istigh í. Gan síol ná cnó sa tslí ort –
Gan ach bolgam de bhia úscach leáite a mhilseodh do shaol.
Mar sin féin, ar nós go leor torthaí eile, maireann figí i riocht athraithe
In athionchollú nua. Á triomú faoin ngréin,
Cúbann fige inti féin, a gas ina dhlaoi anuas
Ar a bolg cothrom, a cuid meala á coigilt aici don dara gníomh.
Saleem Peeradina
Anatomy of a Fig
The fruit with the longest history on earth, the fig
Is also believed to be the first farmed fruit.
In Eden, the fig leaf failed its mission – the fruit hung
Immodestly from the tree, tender as a testicle. Its skin
Shade goes from yellow and brown to resplendent purple.
In the market, the figs sit on their ample rumps
Neatly arrayed in a basket. Pick one by its nubby stem
And gently sink your teeth into its glistening wet, lush red
Yellow-dotted interior. No seed or nut to bar your way –
Just a mouthful of oozing, melting flesh to sweeten your life.
Even so, like most other fruit, the fig survives in an altered state
In a new incarnation. Drying in the sun, the fig
Folds into itself, curling its stem down
To its flat belly, hoarding its honey for a second act