Poem of the Day: "blackberries" by Lauren McBride, Poet of the Week

blackberries
Lauren McBride

thorn in my finger
scratches on my hands
seeds in my teeth
matter not
when blackberries
melt on my tongue

Poet's Notes:  Blackberry pie, blackberry cobbler, blackberry jam, blackberries on my cereal. In the summer, my mother and I would pick quart after quart from bushes where houses now stand. She and I still pick blackberries wherever we can find them, protected by long sleeves and long pants, but with bare hands reaching. I wrote this poem to celebrate the reward despite the effort.

Editor's Note:  I love the way this poem forms a nice, juicy image.  Reminds me of the delight I find in discovering boysenberries growing wild in a park or on the road.

"blackberries" first appeared in the 2010 spring/summer issue of The Aurorean.  A brief biography of the poet may be found here:  http://www.eretzsongs.blogspot.com/2015/07/poet-of-week-lauren-mcbride.html.