I would never scold the onion for causing tears

~ Live & Learn

bermuda-onion
“It is believed that the onion originally came from India. In Egypt it was an
object of worship —why I haven’t been able to find out. From Egypt the onion
entered Greece and on to Italy, thence into all of Europe.” — Better Living Cookbook

When I think how far the onion has traveled
just to enter my stew today, I could kneel and praise
all small forgotten miracles,
crackly paper peeling on the drainboard,
pearly layers in smooth agreement,
the way the knife enters onion
and onion falls apart on the chopping block,
a history revealed.
And I would never scold the onion
for causing tears.
It is right that tears fall
for something small and forgotten.
How at meal, we sit to eat,
commenting on texture of meat or herbal aroma
but never on the translucence of onion,
now limp, now divided,
or its traditionally honorable career:
For the sake of others,
disappear.

~ Naomi Shihab Nye, “The Traveling Onion” from Words Under the Words: Selected Poems.

Notes: Poem – Thank you Beth @ Alive on All Channels.  Photo: YMarchese with Bermuda Onion

47 thoughts on “I would never scold the onion for causing tears”

  3. I think that if you plug your nose (and close your crying eyes) you could eat an onion and not be able to tell the difference between an apple and an onion. Everyone around you would know you ate an onion though. 😉

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  9. When we went to a farm on Sunday to buy some peaches we also bought two giant onions (2lb +) for our daughter, as she loves onions and looks forward to receiving her giant onions of August. We never seem to grow enough onions to suit her 🙂 I figure she must have a need for sulfur, since she eats onions, daily; along with the hot chili Sriracha sauce (I don’t like that sauce!!/// btw, the peach amaretto jam turned out well, and he will make a gluten free peach pie, tonight! I will pick up a pint of vanilla bean ice cream to top of the pie slices. Nothing like warm Peach Pie…but then again I say the same thing about warm Sour Cream Cherry Pie and Marion-berry cobbler << oh, the rich, deliciousness of Marion-berries! /// I've come across onions growing, in the wild…I think the layers of an onion building on it's foundation…similar to us building on our foundation…purple onions are so pretty to look at and to eat, each cell oozing with a nice pungent liquid with a biting taste ..

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  11. The Egyptians worshiped onions because they represented eternity. Never ending circles, no core and all.
    Was it Peer Gynt that peeled an onion? Maybe thats where I got the “eat an onion like an apple line”.
    I love that line in the poem “for the sake of others disappear”, but thats only if you cook them, right?
    Hey David!

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  14. They have been chopping onions, herbs and tomatoes…the house smells good…they are making tomato sauce for the freezer! While picking the tomatoes, this mid afternoon they saw the elusive.mole…our daughter was able to touch it as it emerged./// The neighbors little dog has been digging under the fence and was wandering through the garden today…she nipped one of the cats and set our boy off into a barking frenzy. I opened the door and off he went, he stopped in his tracks and he and the little dog were mesmerized with each other…perhaps her name being Lena (after Lena Horn) had something to do with it…boy dog meets sweet, pretty, chocolate colored, short hair girl dog…our daughter said, I wonder if their dog is neutered?

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  15. Dave, this has nothing to do with onions…it was one of those days, “a lot going on”…I saw two sibling kittens today, frolicking in the sun, across the road…they must have been born in June, so darling…my greatest Joy so far today was driving home from the grocery store glancing down a street I know well, I noticed, two darling little tow headed boys, playing with Dad and Grandpa..I turned the car around parked, got out and was greeted with a hello…David was visiting his folks and he now has two adorable twin boys, who are almost 2 and 1/2 years old, they look just like their Dad…my heart was so warmed…seeing them chasing a football…the grandparent’s dog joined in the fun, a sweet golden, a rescue…I think this is golden number four…life is full of Joy if we just stop long enough to look…must try and breath it all in!

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  16. I hope it is apparent that I know the family, well? Though we haven’t touched base for about a year, the last time in the grocery store…I wouldn’t want others to assume that I was creepy, which I am not!

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