Passion Fruit Poem by Kim Barney

Maracujá is the Brazilian name for what Americans call passion fruit. I have never liked it in the past. It started with my first trip to Brazil in 1962. I flew on big planes (Boeing 727 and 747) from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas, then to Los Angeles, New York City and Rio de Janeiro. From Rio to Curitiba we got on a much smaller plane. It was a much rougher ride and I began to get a little bit airsick. The steward brought around some orange-colored liquid in a glass. None of us knew what it was and we spoke no Portuguese at the time. There was a passenger who spoke a little bit of English. We asked him what it was and apparently he didn't know how to say 'passion fruit juice' in English so he said it was orange juice. What a shock to expect orange juice and get something totally different! However, maracujá is very popular here in Recife and I am actually starting to like it now. I sometimes have maracujá-flavored yogurt and it comes with little black seeds in it. When I say that the seeds are the best part, it's because when you bite the seeds, they release a lot of intense flavor! The picture shows some maracujá for sale at a market in the Santo Antonio suburb of Recife.written 23 June 2015Recife, Brazil