Fruits Poem By Goh Poh Seng

This sensuality is deliberate. Goh wants to trap us in the moment of pure, unthinking pleasure—the way a child bites into a mango, unconcerned with the stone at its center. He evokes the abundance of Malaya: the shaved ice of ais kacang , the bursting rambutan, the kingly durian that demands surrender. The poem, at first glance, celebrates the here and now.

Goh uses vivid descriptions of sight and taste (e.g., "green and red and both sweet") to immerse the reader in the garden's abundance.

The poem reminds us that the simplest things—a slice of papaya, the scent of a durian—can carry the weight of belonging, exile, and time. fruits poem by goh poh seng

In these lines, the poet transforms the physical act of eating into a metaphysical anchor. The "stain of mangosteen purple" becomes more permanent than concrete—a hereditary ink of belonging.

The stickiness of the juices and the varied textures of the rinds. This sensuality is deliberate

: He uses tactile and visual words like "shapes swollen," "rounded," and "juicy" to make the fruits tangible to the reader.

Here’s a short, engaging social media post you can use for the poem : The poem, at first glance, celebrates the here and now

In Western poetry, a poem about fruit (think Keats’s "To Autumn" or H.D.’s "Pear Tree") is often about pure aesthetic beauty. Goh Poh Seng’s poem subverts that.