Blackberry Eating
I love to go out in late September
among the fat, overripe, icy, black blackberries
to eat blackberries for breakfast,
the stalks very prickly, a penalty
they earn for knowing the black art
of blackberry making; and as I stand among them
lifting the stalks to my mouth, the ripest berries
fall almost unbidden to my tongue,
as words sometimes do, certain peculiar words
like strengths or squinched, or broughamed,
many-lettered, one-syllabled lumps,
which I squeeze, squinch open, and splurge well
in the silent, startled, icy, black language
of blackberry eating in late September.
Galway Kinnell
i ran across this poem recently and it occurred to me that i had a whole series of blackberry images from last summer in oregon that i hadn't shared....
when we camped along the rouge river, they were EVERYWHERE! plump, juicy and ripe for the picking.
big bags of them ended up in our little motorhome freezer - the best kind of souvenir!
oh, the joys of summer....
Your blog never ceases to inspire me, Patty. You have a gift. The poem by Galway Kinnell is unknown to me. I will look him up. Photos so beautiful I feel I can reach in and enjoy my breakfast. My mom-in-law used to put them through the juicer, pour them into ice cube trays, freeze them, take them out of the trays and into plastic bags, where you could reach in for a couple during the winter, add a little steaming hot water and honey to enjoy a lovely winter drink. I always thought that was very clever. Of course that was in Scotland where we froze out butts off. Thanks for the memories, Patty. xoDonna
ReplyDeleteDonna, I LOVE that! Seriously, I want to try it. Thanks for your very kind words. The poem was in a compilation called Dancing with Joy by Roger Housden. Very good stuff!!
DeleteOh let's make blackberry jam! xo jane
ReplyDeleteJane, I thought of you! Next time I will get extra....
DeleteMmmm, they look so delicious, I wan't to put them in my mouth.
ReplyDeleteElla, yes, I did a lot of that!!
Deletewhen we lived in Wisconsin we had a ginormous path of them...ohhh...they were so delicious!! now i have to pay for them!!
ReplyDeleteyour photos bring back lovely memories!!
While I recently walked around "my" lake I noticed all the blackberries there and took several photos (I think our minds are pretty much alike in some areas). Your top photo is awesome!
ReplyDeleteThey look so delicious. I think blackberry season ended while I was away, because Burgerville doesn't have blackberry shakes any more. Sniffle. I might need to check the patches near my house. I do think they are my favorite berries.
ReplyDelete