Mango as a Metaphor

A parcel arrived at my doorstep, quite unexpectedly

I smelled it before I saw it and I knew instantly

That the package contained mangoes achingly sweet

Alphonso mangoes that had ripened in the scorching heat

Of parental love, mangoes were the epitome

My in-laws had gone to great lengths to send these mangoes to me

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As my family feasted on the delectable fruit

I was inspired to wax poetic about mangoes being emblematic of my roots

But the internet obviously learnt my intent

And I unexpectedly began to see content

Focused on the “mango diaspora”, the trope South Asians were advised

To avoid in their writing by a celebrated author who had realized

That an overused metaphor for the longing of an immigrant the mango had become

Using a mango to describe a connection to the homeland was unwelcome

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It may be cliched but it is true that mangoes, especially the exquisite Alphonso

Evoke a sense of nostalgia that is difficult to forgo

When South Asian writers use the mango in a metaphorical sense

It is actually a reflection of their lived experience

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I was going to write about the nostalgia evoked by eating mangoes

But instead to write about why I should not, I chose…