enjoying eating olives

I'm enjoying eating olives -
briny, pungent, green ones. Even though

they have pimento in them, peeking out
red from hidey-hole -

I know I used to hate those. Given,
this was as a kid. I always thought it was
pimento that I hated. And

scrupulously avoided ever since,
like it was a part of me: I hate
this kind of olive. It's the pimento,
probably.

This was my truth, through all these days
and years. Even though I knew I'd come
to be quite an avid consumer of olives
of all other kinds, including all shades
of green, whether empty, with pits in
(to gnaw around like a rat!), or
stuffed with who knows what garlic,
hot pepper, anchovy or almond - plus ripe
olives, black, or the wrinkly one they
always put in your Greek salad.

Always, the classic green with red in
was the outcast, hated and known to be
bad. And now I find out it's delicious,
much like these others. So what

did I hate? Has my palate changed?

Or have I grown up, and lost
who I used to be?
Lost my faith and integrity, down
all these years.

So now any olives will do, for me.