Picking near Baileys Harbor

The following poem was written by a Door County author and featured in the 2011 Wisconsin Poets’ Calendar.

Picking near Baileys Harbor

If moonlight had an aroma,
it would be the scent of blackberries,
night-black fruit dotted with crunchy seeds.

They yield best in the clearing
where sun peers into the openings,
blessing the brambles with inky fruit.

Thorns discourage all but the heartiest
pickers. Prickly canes catch my sleeves
and later, I see droplets of blood.

Crushed, sugared for jam, those seeds
are still there, surrounded by this joyous juice.
The aroma explodes in the bubbling pot …

grapes and vanilla come to mind
with the gentleness of Beaujolais.