Blackberry Pie
A poem for the Snacktime Sonata Challenge
It was the only pie Ma would make
all year – blackberries, still warm
from the sun, picked over for the
occasional passenger (scurrying ant,
inchworm, clinging leaf) covered in
a mountain of sugar, and baked in a
store- bought crust until it bubbled up,
thick and sticky, all over the old cookie sheet
that Ma had the foresight to cover with foil.
The memory of that pie is also the memory
of my father, who knew every dirt road and all
the best berry patches – of August days alive
with bugs and birdsong, the heavy buzz of
bumblebees, and the sun in my sister's hair
as she burst from the thorny thicket,
covered in scratches, but beaming.
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Comments (12)
Funny Marsha: When I was about 12ish a customer I tossed-to from my Schwinn had a bush. And, since you mentioned it, I got all scratched up picking-um; the miffed customer even stopped the paper. But, so worth it. Although we live on a postage stamp lot; we still grow our own garden. Yes Marsha, Better than "Store Bought." Fun! j.in.l.a.
Beautifully written. Congrats on your victory!
Great tekst
Hello, newly subscribed thanks to "Blackberry Pie"! Good luck with the challenge and congratulations on Top Story!
Congrats on Top Story!🥳🥳🥳
Ooooh blackberries! We have wild ones all over and used to fight the thorns to pick them, big fat juicy ones. We had a dog that would lean in, smelling, curl her lips back and daintily remove a ripe one from the branch and eat it (an Australian Shepherd).
Congratulations 🎉 for top story amazing description of words that how memory effects
EPIC description of what must be such a special memory! :)
Beautifully woven with imagery and nostalgia! And great snack sonata entry!
I always find it amazing how one memory can lead us down a path of many more. This is so well done and reminded me that while my mom never had the time for baking, her mom made the time and what apple pies she made! Oh yum. Thank you for giving me a trip down my memory lane.
I really like the way you wove in the story of your parents through the memory of having a Blackberry Pie. This is a beautiful poem
This sounds delicious, I've never tried a blackberry pie! Good poem.