Autumn Fruits

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it,
and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth
seeking the successive autumns."
-- George Eliot

It's autumn in this part of the world, and while we've had to say farewell to the fruits of summer for another year...we have the autumn fruits to fill in their place.

The unassuming quince...dined upon by owls and pussy cats:

'Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?'
Said the Piggy, 'I will.'
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

--From The Owl and the Pussycat, by Edward Lear

The ancient pomegranate, apple of many seeds:

"Wilt thou be gone? it is not yet ... near day:
It was the nightingale, and not the lark,
That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear;
Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate-tree"

--From Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare

Persimmons, fruit of the gods:

"Some things never leave a person:
scent of the hair of one you love,
the texture of persimmons,
in your palm, the ripe weight."

--from Persimmons, by Li-Young Lee