portion of the artwork for Mindela Ruby's poetry

I Want to Marry Grapes
Mindela Ruby

Grapes are popular for good
reason, bite-sized globes
of translucent sweetness, fruiting
berries of the vine, they stay fresh
a long time, travel well
have a chewy peel
your teeth must pulverize
and blend in your mouth with
the juicy squirt grapes yield up

Red, purple, green grapes
grapes that look black
Grapes are dependable, available
all year, non-climacteric, they
don’t abscond at winter time

Fibrous grape skin’s antioxidants
ward off cancer’s ravishes
Grapes’ phyto-nutrients abound in wine
and dried, pale grapes, Sultanas
taste like the nectar of life itself

You can store grapes in the fridge
or not, wash your grapes
munch on grapes, buy more
grapes when you need them
Baked with squash? Grapes hold up

Grapes never go away
Nor will grapes get in your way
Grapes make the perfect grooms. I do
I take these grapes to my body
to have and hold so help me God


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FRiGG: A Magazine of Fiction and Poetry | Issue 53 | Spring/Summer 2019