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Head down back bent hot sun sandy soil
Toenails painted in bright sloppy berry juice
The world is bright red candy on green vines
And hers to put in a bucket
Playing hide and seek with the berries
Searching for the reddest ripest
Look! Here's one meant for a magazine cover shot!
And here's one so big it looks pregnant!
This one looks like a drunk's nose!
And these are conjoined twins!
She picks more berries than she can ever eat
Or make into pies or jam
But the picking's the thing
She tells herself that when she has a daughter
She will bring her to the strawberry fields
And she does
But her daughter just complains
Of the heat and the bees
Perhaps she is just too young to understand
The beauty of an afternoon
Free
submitted for Thursday Think Tank 55, Freedom, at Poets United
16 comments:
I related to this on so many levels. My garden is my space to be free.
Oh, ain't it the truth about the young one. Sometimes the thing I was sure would be a hit, turned out not to be.
Loved the drunk's nose!
an afternoon free...that is a beautiful thing...i remember going to the picking fields with my mom to get vegetables...never picked strawberries....
They complain now, but the memories sweeten over time. A delicious piece of writing.
Brings back memories of childhood - although of pea-picking. 2s.6d a box. Although it took nearly a full day to fill that box (as a little thing)- oh what 2s.6d could buy!
Anna :o]
love strawberries.
juicy, sweet, and fresh.
Given time... those strawberry fields will one day look like the best buffet around for the soul.
One day her daughter will understand the importance of time on your own
this is really great, so i gave you one of my weekly goddess awards that you can collect at my place if you like.
happy blogging!
It's a shame that wisdom is wasted on the young. It's not until years later usually that they stop and think "Oh! So that's what she meant!"
Mmmmmm... :) Your words are delicious... like strawberries! I've never picked my own, but I sure know how to eat them. I think that even if your daughter doesn't get it now, she will figure it out later when looking back on the day fondly.
Pregnant strawberry :)
aaah, I can feel the juice run down my chin :D
Well done; yes I love the pregnant strawberry...great imagery!
The strawberry fields are nice. I could stay there forever. Hehehe.
I love this poem! It reminds me so much of the book, Snow Falling on Cedars and how their entire life was centered around strawberry picking. It's really incredible how reading a poem can take one's mind on an adventure and each person's is never quite the same. Thank you!
You have such great images in this! And some wisdom, too, I love it! :) Did you ever complain about the heat and the bees? I did (but it was raspberries, not strawberries). But then, as I got older, I came to appreciate the occasional 'afternoon free' just like you've penned here! This was a terrific write!
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