Ode on a Green Banana

(After John Keats)
I
Thou still untasted child of tropic lands,
Thou greenish morsel waiting to be found
Among the broad-leaves shadows deep and cool,
With all thy sisters hanging upside-down.
What subtle perfume thou shalt soon exude,
That single scent—Ah, sweet banana oil—
Which rises to the nose when thou art ripe,
And lingers still, yes, even as thee spoil.
But thou art green and green thou will remain
Till plucked, what joy, what happy dénouement.

II
Eaten fruit is sweet, but that uneaten yet
Is sweeter still; therefore we wait to taste
For nectar of thy gift unto the palette,
When first we pluck thee, from thy skin encased.
Fair fruit, beneath the boughs of thy broad leaves
Thou hidest until pickers find thee there;
Gentle though art, yet never wilt thou know
The peace of ripening on thy parent plant,
A ripening that lends a golden glow
To fruit that in its nature should be fair.

III
Ah, happy, happy boughs that will not see
The bleak cold snows of winter’s biting air;
And happy morsel, undiscovered still
Amidst thy siblings, hanging green like thou.
So many there—so many, many there—
For sometime green, then yellowing in hue;
And with thy sisters put aboard a boat
To grace the shelves of Walmarts everywhere,
Slowly shifting from their green to gold,
To be purchased now—fine fruit, fair and true.

IV
Who are these ones who thee would now possess?
What god of commerce art they thus addressed’
Who push the cart with wobbling wire-born wheels,
Who come to seek thee on the counter there
From many places, homes, streets, near and far
Who choose thee over apple, over pear,
And place thee in their cart with tender care
Lest any bruise should mar thy tender skin—
A later stain that surely would impart
A lesser charm, and make thee flawed therein?

V
O tuberous shape! Fair fruit we all adore
Now blessed yellow, best for our repast—
With ice cream or with cereal before
Or better still when dipped in chocolate
Or eaten solely by thyself at last
When we are old and chewing is a chore
Thou shall remain—soft yet firm for eating—
A friend to man, whom I will yet adore
“Banana is joy; joy, banana.” That is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.