I
They have a dusty coating
You can rub away with a finger’s pad
Leaving a small inky-skinned
Plum, wild, of dark blue hue
Found in hedgerows where
The blackthorn grows:
The sloe.
Pick in September
October even,
Its colour seemingly so at odds
With Autumn’s trends
Of brown and orange, red and gold
This prunus spinosa (or so it goes):
The sloe.
II
How this photo’s colours
spell autumn this dull
rain-threatening day we walked
almost empty fields so I could
crunch the stubbled wheat
and you might pocket sloes
to halt you said
that earnest kiss
or passion-promising
hug against the gate.
Sep 16, 2013
Sep 16, 2013 at 2:35 PM UTC
I
They have a dusty coating
You can rub away with a finger’s pad
Leaving a small inky-skinned
Plum, wild, of dark blue hue
Found in hedgerows where
The blackthorn grows:
The sloe.
Pick in September
October even,
Its colour seemingly so at odds
With Autumn’s trends
Of brown and orange, red and gold
This prunus spinosa (or so it goes):
The sloe.
II
How this photo’s colours
spell autumn this dull
rain-threatening day we walked
almost empty fields so I could
crunch the stubbled wheat
and you might pocket sloes
to halt you said
that earnest kiss
or passion-promising
hug against the gate.
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