Juice

Juice

A pomegranate is loaded with health;

Of which benefits, here follow in rhyme:

Its seeds (a k a arils) have a wealth

Of compounds, which “May” keep your heart in prime;

“May”, (as scientific tests have suggested),

Improve bone health, and potentially, “May”

(Though, to date, only mice have been tested),

Keep the symptoms of menopause at bay.

Athletic performance “May” improve too,

Upon consumption of extract or juice;

Muscles “May” recover as good as new;

Pomegranate’s properties “May” reduce

Cancer cells, and improve your memory

(Though again: that’s only been trialled on mice);

They “May” be anti-inflammatory;

But, come what may, they’re supposed to taste nice,

And my PSA count, being quite high,

I thought I may as well give one a try.

And so, to the supermarket I strolled;

First to Tesco, but alas they had none;

Indeed, it seemed much of their fruit was sold:

Tomatoes, cucumbers, lemons; not one!

All that was there was a sign telling me:

“Maximum of 3 Units per buyer”.

I wondered how this could possibly be;

Was there a problem with their supplier?

It was the same in Sainsbury’s, Lidl,

Morrisons, Aldi, even M&S,

But this is all a rambling riddle,

And I, not wanting to further digress,

Here finish this second verse with Waitrose,

Where, surrounded by mostly empty trays,

Were pomegranates, (but no tomatoes),

Priced over two pounds each, which, in these days

Of hyper-inflation, fails to surprise;

Even less now food rationing applies.

The next day, I painted the kitchen red,

Much to the irritation of my wife;

“There’s pomegranate everywhere”, she said;

In short; I’d earlier, with a sharp knife,

Cut the pricey pomegranate in two,

In the hope of finding arils galore,

Which, on first inspection, seemed very few,

But under the pith, there were many more,

Accessible, or so it appeared, only by

Gouging the pith with a knife and a spoon,

And further, pulling out the seeds with my

Hands, as seeds, each, a tiny balloon,

Filled with juice, exploded; hence, fingers, shirt,

And face, as well as the floor, and the walls,

Were juice-stained; some even managed to squirt

On the ceiling; giving my wife good cause

To yell at me, in exasperation,

As I cleaned up, in resigned frustration.

I've recently, on YouTube, discovered

How pomegranate seeds can be removed,

In ways that avoid you getting covered

In stains, and my skills have greatly improved,

But sadly, having since acquired a taste,

I find pomegranates too dear by far;

And, lest my new-found knowledge goes to waste,

I need to find where the cheaper ones are.

Meantime, I’ve been taking supplement pills:

Lycopene, turmeric, vitamin D;

I drink lots of green tea, in between meals,

Eat fresh fruit and veg, stay mostly fat-free;

I’m due another test in six weeks’ time,

And all above mentioned, allegedly,

“May” lesson my PSA level’s climb;

“May” bring it right down, eventually.

Meantime there’re always nice things to eat,

Like pomegranate: my once a month treat.