This one is lemon flavor

Can you show lemon flavor without showing a lemon?

A twist of rind? A speckled burst of “sour” dustiness perhaps? Fully leaning into yellow? Not goldenrod, banana, mustard, or parchment. It’s a bright, saturated punch in the eye.

What is the essence of lemon? Zestiness? A dimpled yellow surface? A radiating stained glass window of juice vesicles? A pith? A mist of sparkling spray? A spritz? A sparkle?

Is it the pucker? The tightening at the back of the jaw? A shock of clarity? Is it electric? Is it a dagger stabbing into a tongue? A rinded snake striking?

Is it a point on a pH scale? Acid melting through a table?

Is it a botanical illustration of a tree? Would you recognize its flower? Or its leaves?

Is it hand-painted signs, a cup for a quarter, yellow and white stripes, the sound of a wooden spoon swirling ice in a pitcher? Sticky hard candy rattling in a box or crinkling in its wrapping?

Sure!

But a picture of a lemon is pretty dang efficient.