BITTER ALMONDS

Metallic and sour…the taste every time I remember them!
Grainy little pieces of grit lie on the palate of my tongue.
I cringe at the thought of swallowing my mouthful of contention with sharp hesitation because it’s just too hard to gulp.

I imagine the route in which this bitterness will take as it passes my tongue into my throat and down the paths of my sensitivities. It’s become so hard to pass. My chest aches as if the almond pulp stopped purposefully…strategically to beset me.

The flavor is rancid! It’s so obnoxious causing my eyes to water up as my chest begins to hurt! The lump refuses to pass down my esophagus and into my belly where stomach acids can wreak havoc.

But all ends well. Eventually, it gets better. The taste is covered by other favorable flavors. Then I forget altogether, the encounter of bitter, sour and bruised almonds…until I bite another.

INSIGHT: I wrote this poem in December 2015. The message I wanted to convey was for others to remember no matter what life throws at you, regardless of what you’ve had to stomach, you can look at the bright side of it. Sometimes there is bitterness and sweetness rolled up together. This combination can be tricky at times because some things that are sweet aren’t good for you and other times, what may be bitter turns out to be the best.

But what do you do when life throws you that bitter almond? You had no idea the taste was atrocious until you bit into it! Your choice is to either spit it out and grab another handful of nuts or grin and swallow it. Look at life in that same perspective: we have choices of what we choose to swallow. If it doesn’t suit you well…well then, spit it out!!

FEEDBACK: What’s your take on the poem and the message? Sign up, write back and let me know. I would love to hear your perspective on the poem.