Anne Clegg
Blackberrying
Although it would be nice to be prepared
with sun hat, strong shoes, bags galore,
it happens quite by chance –
you see them – a scrummage of brambles,
arching branches alongside an old quarry,
a hedge held hostage by thorns –
you follow a track off a dis-used road,
and there, gleaming through green leaves,
the luscious, shiny, sweet black fruit teases
your fingers with its abundance.
No matter how hard you try to fill
your makeshift bag, how far you stretch
to pick each tantalising treasure, you
never get quite enough to satisfy desire.
Next time, you promise, licking blue-black
fingertips and as many scratches as your tongue
can touch, next time we’ll do it properly –
you never do – somehow this furtive game
reaps its own sly pleasure.
Page(s) 49
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