They crop up in high dramas —
Hercules’ eleventh labor
the Judgment of Paris —
but what the Greeks called apples
were in fact oranges
said to shine like lanterns
by the sailors who brought
them from India
to trade for gold
until the fruit lost its currency
and over time became
a party favor
a historical relic
a rare condiment
and finally (by default)
a common food
quartered and sprinkled with salt
and best eaten
before dawn
when it glows