literature

Mango

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Daily Deviation

Daily Deviation

March 6, 2009
Mango by ~eyewish uses a mature, conversational voice and subtle imagery to hint at the fuller story surrounding a delicate issue.
Featured by SparrowSong
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Literature Text

She could eat a mango with her eyes closed
Her fingers well acquainted with the fruit's soft hairs
Then peel it back slowly with a sharp paring knife
As I watched, intrigued by how the smooth grain
Of the kitchen table matched the hues of her arm.

But this was one time, when the soft summer night's
breath exhaled long into the kitchenette
That I found her head down, her eyes withdrawn
To a breeze tossed curtain above her.
And I noticed her stomach swelling as a ripening fruit.

And knowing quite well that a seed separated from the tree
At such a young age could fall into another garden
And be fruitful. And this she knew, for her rough tan legs
Still remembered the back scratching at her when
In her old country, men would climb up and into

The trees, selfishly tearing a fruit from its mother.
But only once later in life did I glimpse the ghost
A dull red that broke from my sister's finger when once
She peeled a mango with the knife coming towards her.
The blood smearing across the orange-green of the fruit.

She salted the meat found beneath the skin of the mango
With a salt that stings when it finds its way
Into a fresh cut. Then she looked me over, her eyes
The color and shape of a wrinkled almond. She said
"The mango. It's not quite ripe." Then ate in silence.
New description:

I probably wrote this piece back in 1998 and probably never revised it since then. Although, I received a lot of encouraging feedback after the Daily Deviation (Thank you, and what a surprise!) that perhaps I should. In this, I attempted to softly describe an emotional issue in the context of my Filipino-American heritage.
© 2004 - 2024 eyewish
Comments54
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cinty-insanity's avatar
This is so indescribably sad and beautiful.
Amazing story :heart: