In Praise of the Onion

 

Egyptians of old‭, ‬or so we are told

Loved onions as if they were gold

Their concentric circles could end all stife

And a passport they thought to eternal life‭.‬

Ramses the Fourth died in Egyptian guise

Not with pearls but with onions in his eyes‭.‬

 

They are a journey into the past

But don’t go there too fast

Six thousand years ago it sealed their fate

When adopted by Alexander the Great‭.‬

 

He transported them from Egypt to Greece

As a personal military showpiece

 

They spread to Europe‭, ‬history attests

Hugging the heels of Alex’s conquests

 

Sadly‭, ‬there is little for experts to embrace

Archaeologists are forced to lose face

For onions just rot and leave no trace

So we are left with memories alone‭.‬

 

Now all these facts are widely known

I’d like an onion garden of my own‭.‬

 

‭(‬Victor Keegan 2024‭)‬