with gratitude to Christie and Dave for their generous hearts and abundant backyard
The thickets are always thicker than I think,
climbing the branches of nearby trees and snaking
through the grass. And red berries are always greener
than I wish, full of pucker and startling bite.
But the blackest of berries, the duller ones, bulbous,
and days past their shine, they are sweeter than I dream.
Sometimes I imagine the way a thing will be—
invent it as something grander than itself.
But the blackberry, ripened in its woodland bramble,
stains the fingers and sings on the tongue
with all the sweetness late summer can gather
and spends all its pleasure at once. Sometimes
there is no better fantasy than the thing itself—
the thorns an integral part of the story. Sometimes
I wish that the stain would never leave.