Just Saying

Just Saying

(with apologies to William Carlos Williams)

They were blackberries from Mexico.

They weren’t organic.

There is snow on the ground.

I bought them anyway.

I ate the last ones in the fridge.

Maybe you would have liked them

in a bowl of ice cream tonight.

Forgive me.

They reminded me of northwest summers,
a Chinook wind for my palate.

They were delicious

and sweet

and so cold.

Blackberry Summer

I have a thing about berry-picking. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, we picked strawberries and raspberries for summer money-making. I learned to appreciate early morning light out on those berry farms. And even though wages were meager and the days long and dusty, my tough, free-lancing work ethic was born there. And really, I just liked picking berries! In Iowa, we have native black raspberries as well as blackberries. There's a patch that my walking buddy introduced me to recently. Lucy and I just picked a bowl this afternoon. I did a botanical of one of the sprigs, and crushed some of the berries for "paint", the perfect color. More berry images ahead. The black raspberry print will be available on my Etsy shop later this month.