St. Christopher's Medal

Not a spring leek
or a cullion.

I give you an aubergine.

Hold it.
See it's black glossiness.
Baby whale,
It nestles for protection in your hands.

It is the only vegetable
Other than cigarettes
to contain nicotine.

Hold it to your face.
Breathe. Breathe it again.

Salt it.
Fry away the bitterness,

The tender solipsism of seasoning.

In the sieve, a gold-panner's bounty
A bounty of love.