My mom taught me
how to eat artichokes
I can so clearly see
her (left) hand
holding the curve of her
silverware, scooping the
spiky leaves and bristles
from the middle
the best part is the heart, she would say
and that we had in common, the artichoke and I,
a heart that was prickly and guarded--
but not impossible to get to
but it was more than that
I remember holding
this odd-shaped spring vegetable,
that to me is one of the most beautiful things
I've ever held
the bright green,
with purple hints
and pineal geometry of the leaves
steaming them, we sometimes burnt the pot
each leaf bearing so little flesh, and somehow
that made it all the more delicious and enticing
sliding each leaf carefully through our teeth
I imagine my mom
eating artichokes as a child in California
learning the greatest life lesson
that she would someday teach me
It is all about the heart.