In Praise of the Brazil Nut

Dipping my hand into the party mix, I retrieve you, Brazil Nut.
Although you mingle well with others – pecans, filberts, almonds –
you want the limelight and will not be dominated in the nut bowl.

Meaty and long, your brown membrane peels as if sunburned in Amazon jungle
before your journey to a North American store.

You are smooth and cool to the touch.
I pop you in my mouth and roll you like a stone.

Tentative molars bite down and my saliva engulfs you.
I am fooled into believing you are a baked potato.
In flavor, you could be cousin to Ireland’s spud.

Thank you for travelling so far to feed me.