What is the figurative language of Grape Sherbet?

There are many forms of figurative language in the poem "Grape Sherbet" One of these is where the speaker says, "Each dollop of sherbet, later, is a miracle, like salt on a melon that makes it sweeter." What does this mean? The speaker is reminiscing the taste of her father's sherbet, and comparing it to a sweet melon. Another example would be where she says, "We thought it was a joke. I've been trying to remember the taste, but it doesn't exist." This is explaining that she thought it was all fun to have her father make sherbet all the time and she thought It'd never be a day without it, until he passed and she can no longer taste the sherbet.