I came across a poem about a pomegranate and it swept me up.
Here's why it matters to health and living a more vibrant life.
Finding tips and tools that meet you in your moment is necessary to the task of gradual improvement. But outside of direct health ‘advice’ lies the secret sauce. We all need the buzz of inspiration and to acknowledge the beauty in process. Some of us will read a book, or listen to someone speak and experience a complete sea change of perspective. From here we’re able to finally get on board with healthier practices, find the energy to parent differently, press go on a project or try something on that we previously would never go near.
For me, this poem speaks beautifully to identity, extending care to all and that sense of marvelling at the magic outside of yourself, qualities that I think health and living vibrant life are deeply connected to when you skip out a few rings from self into community.
Also, both my kids eat pomegranate seeds with a strange kind of reverence. We call them nature’s jewels and they call them nature’s lolly! Connecting with food through art and poetry helps us to cultivate a sense of joy and respect for food, outside of the Western approach to nutrition, which tends to focus more on the macro and micronutrients.
Enjoy!
How to Cut a Pomegranate (2006)
‘Never,’ said my father,
‘Never cut a pomegranate
through the heart. It will weep blood.
Treat it delicately, with respect.
Just slit the upper skin across four quarters.
This is a magic fruit,
so when you split it open, be prepared
for the jewels of the world to tumble out,
more precious than garnets,
more lustrous than rubies,
lit as if from inside.
Each jewel contains a living seed.
Separate one crystal.
Hold it up to catch the light.
Inside is a whole universe.
No common jewel can give you this.’
Afterwards, I tried to make necklaces
of pomegranate seeds.
The juice spurted out, bright crimson,
and stained my fingers, then my mouth.
I didn’t mind. The juice tasted of gardens
I had never seen, voluptuous
with myrtle, lemon, jasmine,
and alive with parrots’ wings.
The pomegranate reminded me
that somewhere I had another home.
- Imtiaz Dharker
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