Priced In Pain

some things are worth a bit of discomfort

A label on my home preserve

reminded me that I had picked

plump, ripened fruit of blackberries

from thorny brambles which had pricked

and stained my skin deep purple-red.

Unfriendly was the Sunday heat

that scorched my shoulders, left them sore,

yet still I stayed avoiding bees

and gathered many, many more

which hung from clusters overhead.

Though blistered fruit was free to pluck

I paid the price in reaper's pain,

but in the dreary winter months,

my autumn harvest proved a gain.

Delicious jam for months ahead,

I thickly spread on buttered bread.

Reviews

[Ken e Bujold]

One of the things I miss most in this world is my grandmothers (both) homemade jams. as a kid i would join my cousins when sent out to collect wild raspberries from the fields and along the riverbanks where they grew in abundance. by the time we returned not a berry left for miles. we ate as many as we delivered, but neither grandmother ever seemed to hold that against us, and all winter long I'd dream of the next year's summer visit, the wild berries and homemade jams.

want to thank neville for digging this gem out from your archives, and you Chris for the trip down memory lane

ken

[Chris Shaw]

Many thanjs Ken. Since the demise of the damson tree, I haven't made jam. I also used to make greengage jam, but that tree died many years ago. Thank you fir your visit abd sharing your grandmother with me. Happy Friday.

Chris

[Gee]

Good afternoon Christine, have you an extensive library of unpublished gems or are you busy beavering away writing new ?
Nothing free comes without some sort of pay back.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Gee. A mixture of both. Truth is, it takes me a while to write a decent poem, and I don't always have much time. Five of us here, soon to be six, so I am a busy, busy bee.

Chris

[Gee]

Ahhh, and there lis the difference. You take your time to produce decent I scribble and post in the hour before work, occasionally striking lucky.
A very busy bee, you should put your feet up and chill :))

[Chris Shaw]

Chance would be a fine thing. Lucky if I can grab an hour or so to do my own thing.

[Gee]

Tut,tut....I'm just grabbing a cuppa then back to it. Have a good afternoon

[Davidgeo]

Harvesting good fruit is never free even when it's free. And like hard earned knowledge it can have many, many long term applications.

Brambles is a beautiful but underused word.

I like how you subtly juxtapose things. The pain of harvest, the delight and usefulness of the realization of that harvest... The berries in this poem could be any number of things.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you David for your thoughtful response, much appreciated.

Chris

[charlie]

This poem could also serve a great vehicle for metaphor (though it might be perennial already). The simple pleasure of picking berries, making jam, eating through the colder months; the self sufficient satisfaction comes through unadulterated and still with appeal.
"I paid the price in reaper's pain" is my favourite line. Loving the alliteration and rhythm in that one: each device amalgamates sweetly there.

[Chris Shaw]

Thanks charlie for your thoughts which I appreciate very much.

Chris

[Island Hippy]

Sweeter for the pain. What a great read! Home made jam a treat that always reminds me of my gran. Many mahalo.

[Chris Shaw]

Smiling at you because my Nan taught me to make jam. Pleased you enjoyed the read.

Chris

[sette]

and it is worth the sacrifice for every berry picked to make a jam... it fits the saying no pain, no glory.. thanks for this writing chris

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you sette, well worth the discomfort. Nothing like home-made jam.

Chris

[sette]

a problem for a diabetic like me..lol