The Taste of Jewels

Well, I know what jewels look like,
(And I know why they call it fire),
And I know what jewels feel like,
In the palm of sweet desire.

But what do jewels taste like?
Well, I know what some will say:
You might as well ask: "What's a fairy's face like?"
You'll never know either way.

But as I'm a worshipper of beauty,
And as I'm a jewel-lover,
I consider it part of my religious duty
The taste of jewels to uncover.

Well, I know rich gold's taste,
For I have felt the summer sun.
And I can summon sapphire in haste
From the sky when twilight's done.

Well, silver's like shadow of rainscent's shade,
And an emerald is warm air
Blowing through an untamed glade
In a forest sweet and fair.

A ruby tastes as slick as blood,
Though sweeter than that is.
A diamond's bubbles in a flood,
Touched by a hint of mist.

An onyx is the dreaming dark,
Weighty and warm as new-turned earth.
And obsidian yet retains a spark
Of the spice of its fiery birth.

A topaz melts like chocolate gold,
An agate lingers for a while,
Tart and tangy as stone, as old
As tourmaline in musty style.

Amethyst has that true geode touch,
And bloodstone burns like wine.
Chalcedony's nothing very much,
While amber's thin and fine.

Jade fills my mouth and spills
In juicy flows down my chin.
But that's nothing to the way jet fills
With hot dark bitterness the mouth it's in.

Exhausted, I lie back in pools
Of fruit and jewels' rind and juice.
Just like fruits, all the varied jewels
Have their flavor and their use.

An emerald for when time is sweet,
And jet for when it's not.
Topaz, I could forever eat;
Obsidian's too hot.

But for now I would feast my eyes,
And cradle jewels in my hand.
In my palm a stone glinting lies, 
With all of beauty to command.