Philosophical Figs
My dad was a poetry lover. When I look back now at some of the poems he loved to recite (in his most demonstrative voice), I wonder if they (and he) would pass the “PC” test. I can still quote the final lines of “Gunga Din” by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) because I heard them so often from my dad:
Though I’ve belted you and flayed you,
By the livin’ Gawd that made you,
You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!
Edna St.Vincent Millay (1892-1950), another of my dad’s favorites, was “a sexually adventurous bisexual…and a morphine addict” (though I would bet my bottom dollar that my dad didn’t know that about her). Her point of view – for many reasons – may not always be well received. Take, for example, her poem “Second Fig”:
Safe upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand:
Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand!
Contradicting a familiar edict, “Don’t burn your candle at both ends,” Millay’s poem “First Fig” is short but memorable:
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light!
My dad even went so far as to write his own take-off on that poem:
My candle burns at neither end,
Heat bent it to a “U,”
So now it has two bottoms.
The whole damn thing’s askew...
T’will light no other’s candle
Nor guide them through the dark.
Tis my own fire department
Which smothered out the spark.
These two fig poems come from an anthology which Millay entitled A Few Figs from Thistles – which must refer to the Bible’s Matthew 7:16: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Was her title meant to be ironic?
Andy’s Corner offers up a poem today too – but it’s not a Millay poem and it has nothing to do with figs. It has a little bit to do with birds. And a lot to do with lies.
Until I started this blog I was oblivious about the amount of fascinating history that accompanies figs. The Smithsonian Magazine has a nice summary of its ancient and religious connections, including this:
The fig tree may have been the first plant cultivated by humans and holds a prominent place in religious history. Some rabbinical scholars even suggest that the tree of knowledge that sent Adam and Eve on the path to perdition may not have been an apple at all, but a fig. The Buddha is said to have gained enlightenment in India under a fig tree.
Since I’m always interested in the gardening and farming and health aspect of fruits and vegetables, I did some quick research and discovered this tidbit: In California 50,000 acres were devoted to fig trees in the 1930’s, but today a mere 9300 acres are devoted to figs. Is that because our tastes are changing and we no longer appreciate figs on the table? If so, that’s a shame, especially given that figs have a lot of health benefits.
It didn’t take long for me to decide we needed a fig tree – but one that could grow in a pot. It was hard to bypass the LSU Purple Fig Tree but I ended up with a Penache Tiger Stripe fig.
Just down the road from our house in Glen Ellen is the spot where the popular “the girl & the fig” restaurant began. “the girl & the fig” has now moved to Sonoma, but “the fig cafe” remains. One of “the fig’s” much-beloved menu items is the Fig & Arugula Salad. We’ve got that recipe for you and we’ve also linked a recipe from SouthernLiving.com for a 2-ingredient delicious appetizer – which combines fig preserves with goat cheese. Even if you don’t think you’re a fig fan, I’ll bet you’ll love both recipes.
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