Fig Tree

The Fig Tree is the first tree mentioned by name in the Bible. Adam and Eve turned to the figs leaves to try to cover themselves, after eating from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. Symbolizing prosperity, well being and of security, figs hide behind the leaves until they are nearly ripe. In her poem, My Father and The Fig Tree, the Palestinian American poet, Naomi Shihab Nye writes about her childhood and her fathers stories; about his longing for and memory of , the taste of figs in his native land. After many years and many started and neglected gardens, he found a house in Dallas Texas and he called her, singing a song of fig happiness. In his new backyard there is a huge prolific fig tree, and finally he was home.