Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Strawberries

The prompt was "What memory compelled them to give special thanks for the fruit?" I took it in a different direction.

[Memory,

A tricky thing.

You think you remember,

And then someone who was there

Tells a different story

Or says they don't remember that at all.]


He's allergic to strawberries.

It's not something he announces,

He just never eats them.

His mother told him

How when he was a child

he broke out in hives

after eating strawberries.

He asked his dad about the story

His dad said he didn't remember much about it,

because his mother handled it.

As for him,

He looks at strawberries 

and tries to remember

but can't.

He ate them once as an adult

just to see what would happen

He got a little itchy

but no welts.

He looks at the menu

Fresh fruit with breakfast would be nice

So he asks the waitress about strawberries

says he's allergic.

They could probably create a bowl without berries

if he'd like to try it.

As he says yes,

He wonders,

Did he really break out in hives?

Has he ever broken out in hives?

Does he know what hives look like?

Did his mother exaggerate what happened?
Maybe he just didn't like the taste

and made a face

or scratched his arms or belly.

He'll never know.

Until she was no longer able to speak,

If he asked

She insisted

He was allergic to strawberries.

She remembered, 

She loved him,

And that was all that mattered.