glossy orange fruit
alongside apples and pears
would my mouth pucker?
cold first and foremost
textural surprise: firmness
a juicy softness
different and new
sweetness stopped me in my tracks
honey, brown sugar?
little orange fruit
maple syrup adventure
that autumnal orb
joy and possibility
alchemy, simplicity
Kim M. Russell, 11th April 2026
On the 11th day of NaPoWriMo, our optional prompt is erasure poetry, also known as blackout poetry, created by taking an existing text and erasing or blacking out individual words. I enjoyed reading the examples Maureen has given us. I have written blackout poetry before but have problems blacking out.
Our challenge is to write erasure/blackout poems, using use a page from a book or a magazine. Maureen says to feel free to maintain the whitespace of the original text or to pluck words/phrases from our chosen source material and rearrange them.
I found mine in an article entitled ‘Chasing flavour’ by Anna Ansari in the latest issue of the Waitrose and Partners Food Magazine and laid it out as a haiku sonnet. (Thank you, Melissa, for giving me that idea!).
Also linked to dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night with Lisa on 23rd April 2026.
writing in north norfolk 
sweet enough for that sweet tooth, and it’s also, good for blood pressure too. A wonderful fruit, indeed.
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I do remember that first persimon when it came first… but if they are not ripe, so very tart… I also remember that they were called sharon fruits when they came
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What a delight to sample in your poem, Kim, the taste coming to fruition, so to speak, deliciously on the tongue and the senses!
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Thank you so much, Dora!
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My pleasure, Kim. 🙂
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Kim, after reading the prompt guidelines I enjoyed the poem that much more. A persimmon is a fruit I haven’t met, yet! (except in poetry) Beautiful rendering.
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Thank you, LIsa!
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You’re welcome.
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delicious!
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Thanks Ron!
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Your poem is like going into the unknown: “will my mouth pucker?” And then the surprise of sweetness. Lovely!
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Thank you, Petru!
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Accidental poetry prompts never juice me but the result here is a good poem, its dowse in a sprung form delving gold in the mix, so sweet lyet so tart.
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Thanks Brendan!
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ylet = yet
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Persimmon with its special taste is a special choice. Not readily available makes it to be appreciated more! Well written Kim!
Hank
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Thank you, Hank!
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hmm not sure I have tried that type of fruit yet. New possibility
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Be still my heart!! We had a persimmon tree in our yard when I was growing up … our Mother made persimmon puddings and persimmon cobblers. At first my sisters and I turned up our noses … until we grew to love the unique flavor of that fruit. A wonderful poetic shout out to the PERSIMMON!
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Thank you, Helen! You’ve made my mouth water at the thought of persimmon puddings and cobblers.
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mmm…delicious. A sweet, simple moment of scrumptiousness–what could be better than that? 🙂
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Thanks Jennifer.
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A tasty wonder, Kim 👏
We have lots of unusual fruits here in Thailand, most of which are delicious to me. I’m pretty sure we have persimmons, but I don’t know if I’ve actually tried them myself….
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Thanks Shaun. I love to try new fruits.
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