(I wrote this piece about 30 years ago after I learned what a truffle was. Great for a metaphor, I thought!)

( Wikipedia Dictionary for truffle :a strong-smelling underground fungus that resembles an irregular, rough-skinned potato, growing chiefly in broadleaved woodland on calcareous soils. It is considered a culinary delicacy and found, esp. in France, with the aid of trained dogs or pigs.)

 

TRUFFLE TRUTH
Betty Luceigh (c. 1985)

Truth
like a truffle hiding ‘neath the tree
is a treasure that lures the soul
to the exotic promise of a flavor
to enhance the unseasoned
–or is it unreasoned—life.

We ourselves
too often lack the means to find
and rely instead on simple pigs
endowed with the humility
to stick their noses to the ground
not the air
in search of what goes deep
to keep itself whole
as nourishment for the ardent seeker
and not the fool
who would unwittingly puree it underfoot.