fruit

fruit holiday this week
Tu B'Shvat

when I was
a student
in Oakland Jewish Center Hebrew School
we used to
get bags of fruit
dried fruit
very dry fruit
in brown paper bags
raisins and "bukser"

can't remember what else
chewed that dried bukser
with the seeds
to spit out

always bought bukser
for our kids
for Tu B'Shvat
one actually liked it
but we all chewed
and chewed anyway

most years
bought all sorts of fruit
dried, fresh, spoiled, preserved, refrigerated too long
I'd eat and eat
and eat

though
many, like the pineapples
whether fresh or dried and sugared
aren't fruit and aren't native to Israel

this year
not bothering
not buying
just more fructose
fancy word for sugar

but I'll be partying
with fun-loving friends
around a bed-ridden
and who knows
what I'll eat