I love pomegranates. I always have. I love the fruit, the taste, the color, and the strangeness of them - groups of arils separated by an astringent membrane. For some reason I have a radar that senses any mention or sight of them. It only happens for me regarding pomegranates. It does not happen with raspberries or grapefruit - equally beloved fruit preferences of mine.

I was at a book club earlier in the week and we were talking about The Chinese Translations, English translations of Chinese T’ang dynasty poetry as interpreted by the poet Witter Bynner. Poems that had caught the interest of various group members were read aloud. One was:

To One Unnamed IV
A faint phoenix-tail gauze, fragrant and doubled,
Lines your green canopy, closed for the night…
Will your shy face peer round a moon-shaped fan,
And your voice be heard hushing the rattle of my carriage?
It is quiet and quiet where your gold lamp dies,
How far can a pomegranate-blossom whisper?
…I will tether my horse to a river willow
And wait for the will of the southwest wind.

by Li Shangyin (813-858)

I was captivated by the idea of what a phoenix-tail might be, as well as what might the carriage and gold lamp have looked like in this poet’s mind’s eye. A connection to nature and place play a big part here. I wondered what it would be like to be so familiar with the sights, sounds and scents of the plants mentioned. My attention was, of course, drawn to “a pomegranate-blossom.” I realized I didn’t know what one was. I’ve never seen one. Pomegranates don’t grow in northern climates. All I know is the fruit, not the tree and not the flowers.

I went looking for pictures of pomegranate blossoms after book club. I was surprised to learn how deeply colored the red-orange flowers are. Most of the fruit blossoms I know: apple, quince, plum, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry, are much more muted, pale and delicate in their coloring, than the very showy pomegranate. I drew one so I can remember it. Does this change the meaning of the poem for you?

Now to imagine how a pomegranate-blossom might whisper.